The Constitutional Law of 11 February 2022, No. 1, amended Articles 9 and 41 of the Italian Constitution by introducing an explicit reference to the obligation toward future generations. The revised article now states the commitment to “the protection of the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, also in the interest of future generations.” In doing so, the legislator acknowledges the validity of the principle of transgenerational responsibility, according to which the actions we take today may have significant consequences for the world of tomorrow and the well-being of those yet to come.
This principle is part of a broader framework of intergenerational justice, which seeks to ensure fairness between generations by preventing the present from compromising the living conditions, development opportunities, and rights of future generations. It represents an increasingly central ethical and political paradigm in contemporary debates on sustainability, environmental governance, and public policy design. The conference aims to address the theme of the intergenerational bond, exploring practical ways to incorporate it into the political decision-making processes of liberal democracies, as well as effective strategies for communicating it to civil society.

The conference is the concluding event of the PRIN 2022 Project “Next Generation Ita. Increasing Trust, Making Future Generations Possible” (PI: Tiziana Andina)

Program poster