With this in mind we recently undertook a piece of research alongside Cheryl Doig of Think Beyond and the research team at Truwind in a bid to gain a sense of how New Zealanders are feeling about the future, and to enable us to think creatively about potential solutions that will positively impact our next generations. The research was based on the Copenhagen Futures Barometer, a piece of work carried out by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies but has been adapted to be uniquely Aotearoa focused.
There is a wealth of great data that speaks to current state views of New Zealanders and exploring issues of trust and polarisation, and while our research touches lightly on current perspectives around what matters most to New Zealanders, our key area of interest is on the future and people’s feelings about it. It is designed to help us think creatively about developing solutions that will positively impact our next generations. While some of the results were as expected and reinforced current global trends, others provided an element of surprise but suffice to say all provide useful indicators for future decision-making.
In a nutshell:
1. Despite the rapid influx of, and increasingly complex challenges we are constantly facing, there is no other country most New Zealanders would want us to be like.
How do we build on what we currently have and find a way to come together to build the future Aotearoa that is 100 percent unrivalled?
2. Underpinning this is confirmation that New Zealanders see the Treaty of Waitangi as important to our future – Almost 60 percent of those who completed the survey believe the Treaty of Waitangi is important to our future.
3. While there appears to be personal optimism for the future, there is concern over those bigger issues people see as the key threats they don’t have any influence over e.g., the economy, climate change and AI.
4. When we talk about the future and intergenerational worldviews, young people as the ones who will inherit the future are a critical voice – the survey tells us that over 50 percent of those who completed it are increasingly concerned about how we meet their needs.
5. Fragmentation of our social and political fabric plays a significant role in how we feel – our levels of trust, our sense of hope, feelings of fairness and justice and most importantly, our connectedness and cohesion as a society.
So, the big question is, how do we create a sense of collective hope in our communities and how do we turn that sense of hope into action. We need to begin by looking beyond today’s needs to anticipate a world where we all thrive in a truly intergenerational, equitable and just society – an exciting but challenging prospect. We believe the Futures Barometer is an opportunity for the ongoing conversations we need to be having if we are to be successful.
You can read our full report here.
With this in mind we recently undertook a piece of research alongside Cheryl Doig of Think Beyond and the research team at Truwind in a bid to gain a sense of how New Zealanders are feeling about the future, and to enable us to think creatively about potential solutions that will positively impact our next generations. The research was based on the Copenhagen Futures Barometer, a piece of work carried out by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies but has been adapted to be uniquely Aotearoa focused.
There is a wealth of great data that speaks to current state views of New Zealanders and exploring issues of trust and polarisation, and while our research touches lightly on current perspectives around what matters most to New Zealanders, our key area of interest is on the future and people’s feelings about it. It is designed to help us think creatively about developing solutions that will positively impact our next generations. While some of the results were as expected and reinforced current global trends, others provided an element of surprise but suffice to say all provide useful indicators for future decision-making.
In a nutshell:
1. Despite the rapid influx of, and increasingly complex challenges we are constantly facing, there is no other country most New Zealanders would want us to be like.
How do we build on what we currently have and find a way to come together to build the future Aotearoa that is 100 percent unrivalled?
2. Underpinning this is confirmation that New Zealanders see the Treaty of Waitangi as important to our future – Almost 60 percent of those who completed the survey believe the Treaty of Waitangi is important to our future.
3. While there appears to be personal optimism for the future, there is concern over those bigger issues people see as the key threats they don’t have any influence over e.g., the economy, climate change and AI.
4. When we talk about the future and intergenerational worldviews, young people as the ones who will inherit the future are a critical voice – the survey tells us that over 50 percent of those who completed it are increasingly concerned about how we meet their needs.
5. Fragmentation of our social and political fabric plays a significant role in how we feel – our levels of trust, our sense of hope, feelings of fairness and justice and most importantly, our connectedness and cohesion as a society.
So, the big question is, how do we create a sense of collective hope in our communities and how do we turn that sense of hope into action. We need to begin by looking beyond today’s needs to anticipate a world where we all thrive in a truly intergenerational, equitable and just society – an exciting but challenging prospect. We believe the Futures Barometer is an opportunity for the ongoing conversations we need to be having if we are to be successful.
You can read our full report here.
