Festival for the Future 2022: My top 5 Key Themes
Festival for the Future (put on by Inspiring Stories - founded by Guy Ryan) leaves me with big ideas and questions on my mind every year and I like to take the time to ponder them. I've had the privilege of attending this event over the last five years and feel a sense of hope with how the conversation has evolved over this time - mental health and climate change used to be their own whole panel and now they are integrated into every conversation. The event has become a combination of a thought-provoking-inspiration-fest, reunion of social impact friends and a mid year reflection point to re-energise people doing emotionally and energetically intensive mahi/work.
Below are the top 5 themes I've taken away from panels on subjects including: 'Imagining Decolonisation', Circular Economies, 'Business for Impact - Bold Leadership for the New Economy', Sustainable Food Systems and 'The Next Generation - Where to from Here?'
It was amazing to be with such empowering rangatahi/young people for 3 days and on Saturday night to celebrate the Impact Awards with one of my besties Jacinta Gulasekharam (photo with Vanisa Dhiru, Jacinta and myself at the Impact Awards). The annual Impact Awards celebrate remarkable young New Zealanders making a difference for our future. Make sure to check out all the finalists and winners as they're people to watch! :)
Key themes I've taken away in 2022 with 'bullet point notes' from various sessions:
[1] Understanding different perspectives
Fear of difference separates people. People are hungry for connection. Storytelling connects us: make an intentional choice to open up and share.
Land/whenua gives us a sense of safety and belonging. Learn the history of the land you're on to understand the perspectives of different groups of people.
Superdiversity is going to be a theme in NZ soon, especially for Auckland where the majority living there will soon be Asians.
How do we engage when we have points of difference? We need the context to acknowledge multiple realities/perspectives. Our world view is shaped by our experiences, not facts. It's important to understand the context. Pok Wei Heng gave the excellent example using an apple with a bite taken out of it - from one side it looks like the apple is whole, from another side it's clear here's a bite taken out of it. Both perspectives are correct. We need to understand both perspectives and the context those perspectives come from.
[2] Having and sharing vision, optimism and hope
The bad is always available, so is what's going well. Leaders learn history, show greater perspective and share an optimistic view and vision.
Communicate hope and progress. People don't respond to fear well. How do we enable positive stories when the media has the mindset of 'if it bleeds it leads'?
To change behaviour, move away from talking about fear and talk about what people can gain (as humans have the tendency to revert to old behaviour when the threat has passed). We need to paint the picture of both: the imminent threat and the opportunity/aspiration.
[3] Needing an intergenerational approach
Break down 'us vs them' - do more of an intergenerational approach. Combine the boldness of youth with the wisdom of elder generations.
We're in a polarising world. Generation Z is the first generation to tackle the binary. They have a willingness to be vulnerable, show love and emotion. Young consumers have huge influence on social media over brands. Call brands out. Greenwashing erodes trust.
Question: What do we want our future generations to inherit?
[4] Rest as rebellion, and a necessity
The biggest mistake we make is thinking we have more time. The second biggest mistake is believing everything our brain tells us.
Our society wants us to move, and to move quickly. The indigenous approach is to be slower. Rest is radical. Connect with your why, purpose, land/whenua. Understand your individuality, harness your strengths.
"The times are urgent, let us slow down"
In our franticness and anxiousness we lose sight of where we are going. e.g. the climate change industry is filled with so much anxiety
Rest is not talked about in our capitalist system. Rest is rebellion. Rest is saying 'my time is worthy'. Capitalism measures our worth by labour.
[5] Behaviour change and the need for a change of approach
Why are we failing on meeting goals? "Targets have become a proxy for action". Instead, communicate: this is what we're doing, this is our plan.
Climate change: it's like we're all sitting around waiting for a silver bullet on what to do. No - we know what to do about sustainability. If climate change were called, for example, 'climate cancer' people might pay more attention and take greater action. When the world decides it's a big enough problem, stuff happens - we saw this with the Covid-19 vaccine.
Have any of the themes, ideas or questions resonated with you above? Feel free to let me know in the comments section below :)
