We have been growing futures thinkers in Aotearoa and connecting people within the network. This extends from the Ōtautahi Futures Collective through Aotearoa Futures Network and into the Oceania Futures space. The more we connect and learn together the more we grow our futures muscles! It also provides the opportunity to celebrate successes across the network. This is an intentional approach to grow a futures network, ecosystem and community of practice. Futures fluency down under is thriving. There is something in the water….
Aotearoa Network Mapping
Victoria Mulligan #AotearoaFutures has completed a prototype Aotearoa Futures Network Map. She asked people in the Aotearoa New Zealand futures space to complete surveys and used this to create a kumu map of connections and collaborations. Howard Lange, an exceptional PACE intern from the University of Canterbury (and now available for work) provided some much needed technical mahi to help bring this map to life. The first iteration of this map is now complete and you can explore it here.
Victoria says: “There are many assumptions and biases built into this map for sure, it’s not a perfect science, but it’s a start. I do believe that creating change at scale requires many individuals, organisations and sectors to work together to agree on the nature of the particular issue they face and coordinate their responses accordingly. My hope is that this map facilitates that process.”
Victoria will be sharing information about the map, it’s development possibilities and next steps in a webinar on Thursday 2nd May 1130 NZST. More information here soon!
NGFP 2023 Fellowship awarded
A huge congratulations to Alice Dimond for being awarded a Next Generation Foresight Practitioners’ Fellowship. There are 26 global recipients each year and it is so wonderful to have a member of the Ōtautahi Futures Collective as a recipient. Alice’s mahi is an inspiration to us all so check out more details at https://nextgenforesight.org/our-network/fellows/
Alice and the Tokona te Raki team have recently completed a magnificent futures piece called Mō Kā Uri: Ngāi Tahi Stories from the Future
The four alternative futures have been created by aggregating the scenario grids created during whānau workshops. These scenario grids were created by three different generational groups (rangatahi, pakeke, kaumātua), highlighting the voices of each generation and how views differ or align across generations.
– Ngāi Tahu Stories from the Future 2050
Presentations at APFN
ŌFC member Matt Scott presented his work at the Asia Pacific Futures Network (APFN) Conference in Kuala Lumpur last month. Our Oceania Futures team mates from The Pacific Community – Sarah Mecartney, Kristel Griffiths and Emily Sharp – also played a major role in planning and presenting at this conference. They also received an APFN Award (1:11) for institutional contribution. The agenda for the two days is here and the YouTube channel has recordings if you want to link the agenda items to particular videos.
Journal of Futures Studies
The latest edition of JFS has an excellent article from Dave Adams #AotearoaFutures on The Future of Sports and Recreation in New Zealand. I love this deep dive into the ways in which futures thinking tools and methodologies have been used to strengthen this important conversation. This is a recommended read.
Speculative Futures Tamaki Makaurau
A new group, Speculative Futures Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland has been spearheaded by #AotearoaFutures member Victoria Mulligan, along with Jade Tang-Taylor, Alexanda Whitcombe, Joanne Mitchell and Jessica Holdaway. I was privileged to share some of my thinking on Transforming Futures at their recent meeting, hosted by Husain Al-Badry, Pip Lowe, and the team at Datacom. This reaffirms the thirst for an understanding of futures thinking and the importance of us connecting together to share stories, connect deeply and learn together.
Grey Swan Guild
The Grey Swan Guild held a 1000 Day Radar series of events last month. I had the pleasure of hosting an Ōtautahi panel on Climate and Schooling, with Rose Challies, Alicia Poroa (ŌFC) and Anna Stevenson (ŌFC). You might like to check out the Grey Swan Guild and also discover what a ‘Grey Swan’ is in futures terms. I will post the recording of the panel conversation when it is published. If you would like to contribute your ideas on Climate and Schooling to our miro board reach out to me and I will send you the link.
There is so much I could write about the futures work happening in Aotearoa. I suggest you go back to the link for the Aotearoa Futures Network and check out some of the people who have already added their information. This is just the beginning. He waka eke noa. We are all in this together.