On Wednesday afternoon, March 4, the Future Chair was officially handed over to Mayor Ahmed Marcouch in the Citizens Hall of Arnhems city hall. The Future Chair is a symbolic seat representing future generations in decision-making places. By placing the chair, the municipality implements the motion “The Future Chair in the City Hall” adopted by the city council on December 17, 2025.
Mayor Marcouch: “We may see this chair as a mandate. The mandate to be the megaphone for the next generations.”
The initiative for the Future Chair was taken by the Foundation Grandparents for Climate, a foundation committed to keeping the earth livable for future generations, with regard to the consequences of climate change.
During the event, children from various primary schools in Arnhem also contributed by showing their future Arnhem through drawings and poems. The event concluded with the international climate song ‘Stop Dreaming’, sung to the melody of the Italian protest song ‘Bella Ciao’.
The Future Chair
The Future Chair is an idea by the late Jan Terlouw. In September 2022, Grandparents for Climate adopted the idea with the slogan: For a livable earth for all grandchildren.
The premise is that wherever important decisions are made, the consequences for future generations must be explicitly considered. Therefore, Grandparents for Climate wants to place the Future Chair in as many meeting rooms as possible. Not only in political bodies such as the House of Representatives, Provincial States, municipal councils and water boards, but also at polluting companies such as Shell and other enterprises and organizations.