It is that time of year when many of us are taking a break and catching up on some reading. Here are three fiction and three non-fiction books I have really enjoyed in my futures space this year. I have some good podcasts, websites and videos too but I will share them at a later time. If you have recommendations please share so I can add recommendations to my 2025 list.
At the recent Dubai Future Forum there was one thing people wanted to ask me. What on earth is happening in New Zealand? We thought NZ was a leader in race relations and that your Treaty of Waitangi was what underpinned this. Hell yes…oh no…wait…
This post isn’t a reiteration of what you can find online about the Treaty of Waitangi conversation. I have a unique view which is a blend of futurist, great grandmother and Pākēha New Zealander. For my many futures colleagues across the globe – this is not a history lesson just my world view!
A visit from Sophie Howe, the first Commissioner for Future Generations in Wales, was a catalyst to bring a group of young people (rangatahi) together from across Ōtautahi. Think Beyond, Grow Waitaha and the University of Canterbury collaborated to convene this event. Senior secondary school students from across greater Christchurch combined with university students to consider their preferred futures.
Teaching is dead in its current format. It’s not doable. It requires people who can juggle so many balls in the air that most of them fall to the ground. It’s even too hard to focus on a few critical balls. So why do we persist with this used future? What’s the story of educational inertia? Why aren’t teachers falling in love with teaching? Are learners really at the centre?
This year I have been working with a number of diverse groups that want some futures literacy support. They are very aware of the complex challenges of today’s world but don’t know what to do about these challenges!
In these times of unprecedented change we oscillate between making sense of the here and now and considering new possibilities for change. For those of us in Christchurch, Ōtautahi we have experienced nearly a decade of these oscillations, with earthquakes, fires, the mosque terror attack and now a pandemic. We have moved from crises that are localised to those that impact us on the global stage. There is no ‘new normal’.
Technological change continues to accelerate. Automation is an increasing threat to employment. In times of such exponential acceleration it is important for us to consider and amplify what makes us uniquely human. Rather than trying to compete with technology, let’s explore ways in which technology can enhance humanity. What does it mean to be human? What are the implications for organisations trying to understand these complex times?