Norwegian lessons to safeguard the future

Over the first four months of 2025, 56 Norwegian citizens convened to discuss how Norway’s immense oil wealth can best serve current and future generations, both domestically and globally.

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Unlike traditional policymak-ing, where elected officials and experts call the shots, this so-called Future Panel — the second such assembly held in Norway~allowed ordinary citizens, selected through a representative process and equipped with the necessary knowledge, to craft recommendations through informed debate.

The Panel was established by seven civil-society organizations~ WWF Norway, Save the Children Norway, Caritas Norway, Framtiden i vare hender (The Future in Our Hands), the Norwegian Children and Youth Council, andthe think tank Lang-sikt—to conduct a fact-based public discussion about Norway’s wealth. its remit is to amplify the people’s voice eon fis highly important topic before the general election in September. By embracing amore radical model of deliberative democracy that focuses on the long-term collective good rather than short-term political interests, Norway is set-tinga precedent for other countries, Perhaps more importantly, when presenting its recommen:dations to the Norwegian parliament on 13 May, the Future Panel formally demanded a legal framework — including a dedicat:ed commissioner - to safeguard future generations. Ifenacted, it would demonstrate that grassroots advocacy can bring about aparadigm shift in governance.