Whiria te Anamata: The Great Re-Weaving

Acknowledge I Release I Transform

On June 19 2026 60 people converged in Ōtautahi Christchurch to consider how we might shape the future together. The group was diverse in cultures, industries, countries and interests, but with a common desire to grow futures thinking and shape the future.

The three strands woven throughout the day provided the opportunity to navigate uncertain times together and gain tangible ideas to take away:

Acknowledge the current state | Where do we stand at this point at this time? What viewpoints and worldviews are critical at micro and macro levels? 

Release the old systems and mindsets | How do we confront the used future, hospice the old systems and and envision new possibilities?

Transform the system | What practical steps can we take to weave a new system? How might we build momentum and keep connected? What does being a good ancestor look like in practice?

Photo by Erica Austin, Peanut Productions

Beginning the Weave

Dr Eruera Tarena opened the day with a keynote Whiria te Muka Tangata: An Indigenous Framework for Tackling Complex Challenges. 

This practical, grounded approach to weaving futures created the foundations for the day. The keynote presentation has been summarised by AŌLCC and Think Beyond. Please click on the image on the left to read the full document. It is an excellent resource and we recommend you take time to explore it in more depth.

A Real Diversity of Voices

One of the genuine strengths of the day was the breadth of perspectives on offer. Five lightning talks, three rounds of workshops, speakers from multiple countries, and a programme that wove together indigenous knowledge, Pacific futures thinking, and speculative design into something coherent and practical. The full programme can be viewed here. And thanks to Ray O’Brien all the proceedings of the Aotearoa Futures Forum in Ōtautahi June 2026 have been captured as an Special Edition of Pūhau ana te rā.  It is a great resource which captures the diversity and depth of presenter.

Dr. Laiseni Liava’a’s  opening lightning talk — Felupe: Reweaving Pacific Futures from Roots to Stars provided a timely reminder that Aotearoa New Zealand sits within a wider Blue Pacific community, and that the stories we tell have real consequences for the futures we create. The recording has been made available for exactly that reason: this is thinking that deserves a wider audience.

Dr Hafsa Ahmed shared some What if? essays about the future. Inspired by hope, imagination, and evidence. They explore how we might reimagine learning, business schools, workplace engagement and societies. They can be viewed here.

Photo by Erica Austin, Peanut Productions

The Network Is the Point

We were delighted to have some of the Australian futures network join us for the Forum. Dr Elissa Farrow, who coordinates the Oceania Futures and Foresight Symposium, has been a consistent champion of our work and understands why building relationships across Oceania matters. The symposium, held in Brisbane for the last two years, is scheduled again for 2027 and the cross-pollination of ideas between these gatherings is already producing tangible results.

Huw Jones delivered a workshop drawn directly from his experience at the Oceania Futures and Foresight Symposium in Brisbane in 2025. He took ideas he had encountered there and built them into something new — a multi-sensory, embodied futures experience. It's a great example of how this network functions at its best: people learning, sharing generously, and building on each other's work.

The day after the forum, a smaller group gathered specifically to explore what Oceania futures looks like - how to express it, how to grow it, and what action looks like from here. That conversation, Te Moana o Anamata: An Emerging Oceania Orientation to Futures Practice, can be downloaded from the Think Beyond website.

Local depth

Ōtautahi has a real depth in people with experience, training and interest in futures and foresight. The Ōtautahi Futures Collective team helped coordinate the event. When one of the scheduled presenters was unable to attend due to illness, another member of the collective, Elle Archer, stepped in at short notice and ran an alternative workshop.

That kind of resilience doesn't happen by accident. It comes from a community that has invested in each other over time, shares knowledge openly, and shows up. The Ako Ōtautahi Learning City Christchurch team is a committed part of the futures network.

Photo by Erica Austin, Peanut Productons

Closing the Weave

The forum closed with Weaving Warps - informal conversations around topics of interest, giving participants space to explore what next steps might look like. Those conversations have been documented and shared back with attendees, keeping the momentum alive beyond the day itself.

As one reflection on the day put it: "The future is brighter when we do it together, when we're in a constant state of becoming and the future is emerging through the combined conversations that we have."

Impact Statements: Here are what participants had to say

“The conversations were rich, honest, and relational. I left with not only new ideas but also new friendships and a renewed sense of hope for what we can build together across Oceania.”

“Throughout the event, I experienced genuine kindness, encouragement, generosity, and hospitality.”

“What impressed me most was that the values being discussed throughout the Forum were also being lived.”

“Their collective approach demonstrated that futures are not only imagined through presentations and frameworks. They are lived through everyday acts of generosity, hospitality, and connection.”

“In many ways, the Forum team embodied the future they were inviting us to imagine. While the Forum itself has concluded, I leave with the sense that this is not an ending but a beginning.”

“The relationships formed, conversations initiated, and ideas shared over these two days have opened new possibilities for collaboration, learning, and collective action. I look forward to maintaining the connections established through the Forum and exploring opportunities to contribute further to futures conversations within Aotearoa, the Pacific region, and beyond.”

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This event was powered by Ako Ōtautahi Learning City Christchurch and supported by Think Beyond and UnQuiet.

Thanks to Dr Cheryl Doig, Jane Treadwell-Hoye, Hafsa Ahmed, Erica Austin, Sam Woolf, Matt Scott, Elle Archer, Alice Dimond, Jade Tang Taylor, David Duffy, Bernadette McDougall and the wider team of helpers and supporters.

The common desire of all is to grow a futures fluent society where equity, access and innovation thrive through conversations and connections.  The Aotearoa Futures Forum provided the opportunity to grow the network of futurists and foresight practitioners across our region and beyond.