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Newsletter for Intergenerational Justice – 11/2011
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1.) FRFG Proposes a Capital Levy for Future Generations
2.) Launch of the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) in London
3.) New Research Funding Pledge for Intergenerational Justice
4.) Occupy Update from Canada
5.) FRFG Advises Social Democrat Party (SPD) on Generational Politics
6.) Intergenerational Justice Review Available to Pre-Order.
7.) Meetings
8.) Last but Not Least...
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1) FRFG PROPOSES A CAPITAL LEVY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
 The Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations (FRFG) proposes a levy on capital for the benefit of future generations: future investment in education and childcare should be safeguarded through the implementation of a small tax on large private fortunes. Simultaneously, the level of state debt could be decreased through the implementation of such a tax. Wolfgang Gründinger, FRFG Spokesman:
“A tax of 1% will not make any millionaire poorer, but 100% of children will benefit. It is already well-known that today’s young generation will have to pay for the enormous debt accumulated during the financial crisis for the rest of their lives. Moreover, whoever fails to invest in the education of today’s young generation will, in the process, be passing on a hidden debt for young and future generations on top of the already enormous liabilities they are due to pay.”
FRFG therefore proposes a levy on capital. It will take the form of a compulsory tax of 1% on very large private fortunes, namely those which are in excess of 1 million euros (roughly 860,000 British Pounds). In cooperating with this settlement, the rich will be making a fair contribution to a generationally just financial system.
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2.) LAUNCH OF THE INTERGENERATIONAL FOUNDATION (IF) IN LONDON
 On 19 October 2011, IF - who strive to ensure that intergenerational issues are placed at the heart of public debate in the UK - staged its official Launch. FRFG representative James Wilhelm, who attended the event, had the following to say:
“The Launch of the Intergenerational Foundation at the UK Houses of Parliament was a resounding success. The amount of press attention that the Launch generated in the national media was particularly productive in pushing generational justice to the top of the UK news agenda and raising intergenerational awareness. The Intergenerational Foundation will be a critically important actor in securing fairness between generations in the UK in the coming years, and is thus excellent news for UK politics and society.”
FRFG looks forward to working together with IF on shared projects in the future. To date, both organisations have promoted the FRFG’s Demography Prize for Young Researchers 2010/11. In addition, both think-tanks are currently cooperating closely to produce the Intergenerational Justice Review 2012, due for publication in April next year.
Intergenerational Foundation Website: http://www.if.org.uk/
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3.) NEW RESEARCH FUNDING PLEDGE FOR INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE
 According to European Union Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, "future funding at the European level will provide significant space for social sciences and humanities research". Whilst speaking at the British Academy in London on 10th November, she made it clear that the Horizon 2020 programme, which will provide funding from the EU for applied research, will focus on three key areas: 'excellence in the science base', 'creating industrial leadership and competitive frameworks' and 'tackling societal challenges'. The comments were warmly endorsed by the ALLEA, the Federation for 53 National Academies of Sciences and Humanities in 40 European countries, which welcomed such a" large-scale European research programme on identity and cultural change, education and employment, intergenerational justice and personal and societal well-being". In so doing, "a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Europe by 2020" would be within reach, Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn added.
Full article from University News: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111117093853474
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4.) OCCUPY UPDATE FROM CANADA
 In the world of activism, the call for greater intergenerational justice has been nowhere more conspicuous than in the recent Occupy movement, which has sprung up in cities around the world in order to call attention to the multifarious national and global challenges we face, and to demand substantive change. At the Social Change Institute, Hollyhock in Canada, the Canadian Occupy activists have adopted a distinctly intergenerational and synthetic approach: in order to maximise the effectiveness of the Occupy movement, a multi-generational discussion has been created with the aim of discovering what can be learnt from past experiences, especially to harness the experiences of Baby Boomer’s in fighting for political and social change. Organisers hope that their cooperative approach will maximise the effectiveness of the current Occupy movement in the current, perhaps fleeting historical window of opportunity. Emma Pullman and Judy Rebick, two key figures in the promotion of the intergenerational dialouge, outline their approach:
"We have much to learn from each other. We don't have to choose old or new ways of thinking and doing: we can choose to create a fusion of both. What comes from this forging is an alloy that is much stronger than its parts. And therein lies the magic of intergenerational dialogue: With patience and experimentation, we can synthesize both old and new to turn moments of brave action into sustained movements that will achieve lasting change."
If this Canadian intergenerational model is successful, it could set the benchmark for parallel movements elsewhere.
Emma Pullman and Judy Rebick’s article: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/11/intergenerational-lessons-occupy-movement
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5.) FRFG advises the Social Democrat Party (SPD) on Generational Politics
 The SPD parliamentary party is currently developing a strategy paper dedicated to ‘working together as generations’. The paper discusses solutions for how younger generations can be better supported, how middle generations can be unburdened at work and in relation to child support and child maintenance, and how the older generation can be incorporated into social life as an active participator. FRFG Spokesman Wolfgang Gründiger discussed the strategy with the SPD delegate Sabine Bätzing at the German Parliament. At the top of the agenda was the abolishment of the formal voting age-limit, the abolishment of a guaranteed pension, the establishment of a link between pension age to life expectancy, and the introduction of a ‘capital levy for future generations’, which proposes to finance education and child care through a tax on large private fortunes. Sabine Bätzing has shown great sympathy and openness for the ideas and their promotion. It was a pleasant and open discussion. It will be interesting to see how much of the discussion’s content will be committed to paper.
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6.) INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE REVIEW AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER
 The Intergenerational Justice Review 2012 (ISSN 2190-6335) is now available to pre-order. The title of the IGJR 2012 is Ideal Theory and Non-Ideal Politics: The Interdependencies between Justices. The journal will contain scientific contributions from internationally recognised academics as well as reviews of recent texts in the field of intergenerational justice. When ordered before the end of the year, it is available at the special price of just €10 (standard price €20).
If you would like to pre-order the upcoming edition, please e-mail us before the 1 January deadline. It is also possible to order individual former issues for only €5 per edition.
View the IGJR 2012’s Call for Papers or browse our journal archive .
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7.) Meetings
20th November: "Generational Justice – the new Leitmotiv of an alternative society?" Lecture by Boris Kühn. VHS, Erlangen.
2nd December: "The Perfect Voting Age." Hearing devoted to the theme of voting age. FRFG Spokesman Wolfgang Gründinger will attend as expert. The Bavarian Regional Parliament, Munich.
9th December: "Europe 2050 – Clash of Generations? Demographic change and the future of the European welfare system." Expert discussion with FRFG representatives. Schwarzkopf Stiftung, Berlin.
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8.) LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... Please let us know of people who are interested in the topic Intergenerational Justice. If you send us their postal address, they will receive a copy of the magazine >Intergenerational Justice Review< as a non-binding sample copy.
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With best regards,
The Editors
Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations
(Stiftung fuer die Rechte zukuenftiger Generationen)
Postfach 700332
D-70573 Stuttgart
Tel: +49-(0) 711 – 28 05 27 77
Fax: +49-(0) 3212 – 28 05 27 7
E-Mail: kontakt@srzg.de
Homepage: www.intergenerationaljustice.org
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Board of Directors:
Danyal Bayaz
Wolfgang Gruendinger
Adrian Schell (Chair)
Frank Schmilowski
Managing Director:
Boris Kühn
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