Who we are

The Foun­da­tion for the Rights of Future Gen­er­a­tions (FRFG) is a think tank and activist group found­ed in 1997 by a non-par­ti­san alliance of five young peo­ple between the ages of 18 and 27. We are one of the youngest foun­da­tions in Ger­many to this day. Ambas­sadors, trustees and researchers sup­port the foun­da­tion in its work.

But what’s the problem?

Pol­i­tics and soci­ety are obsessed with the here and now. Slow­ly-emerg­ing prob­lems or ones that will affect us in the future lack pub­lic and polit­i­cal atten­tion. Elec­tion cycles force politi­cians to focus on short-term polit­i­cal suc­cess. And the costs of today’s polit­i­cal, eco­nom­ic and social deci­sions are all too fre­quent­ly shift­ed into the future. Younger gen­er­a­tions are affect­ed most by today’s deci­sions in the long-run — and yet their voice is under-rep­re­sent­ed in the deci­sion-mak­ing process. Unborn gen­er­a­tions have no voice at all.

This is where we come in.

Future gen­er­a­tions should have be giv­en the same oppor­tu­ni­ties to sat­is­fy­ing their own needs as today’s gen­er­a­tions. We do not want to live at the expense of those who come after us. We are dri­ven by a vision of young and old work­ing togeth­er for jus­tice that includes future generations.

What we do

It is our mis­sion to raise aware­ness of inter­gen­er­a­tional jus­tice in pol­i­tics, busi­ness and soci­ety and to write infor­ma­tive posi­tion papers that explain the prob­lem and pro­pose prac­ti­cal solu­tions. We work out how to be just to future gen­er­a­tions and inject this into the polit­i­cal debate. We encour­age young peo­ple to engage with these issues and we pro­mote research on the top­ic of inter­gen­er­a­tional jus­tice through our prizes. 300 Friends of the FRFG and indi­vid­ual dona­tions finance our inde­pen­dent, non-par­ti­san work.

We…

are pas­sion­ate: We believe in our vision and put our heart and soul into it. We are most­ly staffed by volunteers.

are goal-ori­ent­ed: We want to make a dif­fer­ence and change soci­ety. We set our­selves con­crete goals and do our best to achieve them.

offer pol­i­cy advice: The foun­da­tion is reg­is­tered in the Ger­man Bundestag’s so-called “lob­by list” and has spe­cial con­sul­ta­tive sta­tus with the UN’s Eco­nom­ic and Social Coun­cil (ECOSOC).

are in demand: We reg­u­lar­ly rep­re­sent younger and future gen­er­a­tions on talk shows, are invit­ed to share our exper­tise with deci­sion mak­ers and are often cit­ed on the media.

We need you!

We are always look­ing for peo­ple and organ­i­sa­tions who want to work with us to find good and prac­ti­cal solu­tions to prob­lems which affect younger and future gen­er­a­tions. Just get in touch. You can also donate, become a Friend of the FRFG, or apply for intern­ships or jobs.

Help us make the world a better place for young and unborn people!

Awards

Even though our work is reward­ing in itself, we’re always delight­ed and hon­ored when respect­ed orga­ni­za­tions rec­og­nize our achievements.

2018 — Ener­gy Globe Award “Nation­al Winner”
2014 — Our Task Award
2011 — Award by the Euro­pean Com­mis­sion for the imple­men­ta­tion of Euro­pean Vol­un­tary Service
2008 — Inte­gra­tion Award of the Apfel­baum Foundation
2001 — Citizen’s Medal of the City of Oberursel
2000 — Theodor Heuss Medal