Peter chats with Elissa Farrow and Jeanne Hoffman about the Oceania Futures and Foresight Symposium 3-4 April 2025 they are organising in Meanjin (Brisbane).
Interviewed by: Peter Hayward
Links
Ticket Links - http://tix.yt/oceania-futures-and-foresight-symposium
EOI open until 31 Dec for speakers - https://forms.gle/vkbxDZeaD9QuEBE9A
Dr Elissa Farrow: drelissafarrow@gmail.com
Dr Jeanne Hoffman: jeannehoffman71@gmail.com
Transcript
Peter Hayward: Its been a few years since we have gathered the Oceania members of the Futures and Foresight Community in a physical space and I am very happy to hear about a Symposium that is being put together in April 2025.
Jeanne Hoffman: the first day, is really about, connecting to the past to build in the future. So day 1 is about grounding and tradition, expanding our future horizons. I think that's the theme we've named. And so this is really the importance of emphasizing the importance of integrating the wisdoms, perspectives of the Pacifica and First Nations communities and to futures planning foresight themes are highlight around cultural respect, land stewardship, youth empowerment, intergenerational responsibilities, To shape sustainable and resilient futures.
Elissa Farrow: That's a really beautiful description of day one. And we do have, an expression of interest out for people who would like to submit an idea. so we've got, space for people to provide an offer. day two, the theme shifts slightly. it's still very much, connected to building futures, but it's around collaboration and collective action. a morning of open space sharing, an opportunity for people to bring case studies or smaller panel processes and an opportunity for the community to come together from an action planning. perspective in the afternoon so that the conference isn't a talk fest. It's also saying, in light of everything shared over the last two days, what do we want to do together to move this forward?
Peter Hayward: Those are my guests today on FuturePod, Dr Jeanne Hoffman and Dr Elissa Farrell.
Welcome back to Future Pod Dr Elissa Farrow.
Elissa Farrow: Hello. How are you Lovely to reconnect with you.
Peter Hayward: yes. And I understand you've brought a friend. Do You want to introduce your friend?
Elissa Farrow: I brought, my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Jeanne Hoffman. The two of us are working on a symposium in 2025 to bring, the futures and foresight community together across Oceania.
Peter Hayward: Hi Jeanne.
Jeanne Hoffman: thank you, Peter. I'm very excited to be here and to tell you about this symposium that Elissa has mentioned.
Peter Hayward: The pod community have heard Elissa’s story in detail, so maybe just a quick little five minutes, Jeanne, would be nice.
Jeanne Hoffman: Some people who may know me as the former editor of the Journal of Future Studies, until Anisah Abdullah, took over that position. I'm currently the director of Anticipating Futures, futures literacy, future foresight, futures thinking, workshops, research, within organizations and communities, that I'm doing now back in Australia and just on that,
For anybody who might be interested on the 9th and 10th of December, I have a 2 day Futures Masterclass with Sohail Inayatullah and Ivana Milojevic, in Caloundra which Elissa is also part of as a guest speaker.
On the 9th and 10th of December, if, some of your listeners might be interested in joining us, they can certainly can. And currently, I'm the co-editor of the World Futures Review with John Sweeney. I've just come back from Dubai Futures Forum where we had a fabulous session talking about the future of futures journals with many of the other editors of futures journals, also facilitated by Sohail,
Peter Hayward: And which university are you engaged with in Australia?
Jeanne Hoffman: Both Elissa and I are Adjunct Fellows at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Peter Hayward: It's great to have you back in Australia and available, the workshop with Ivana and Sohail sounds pretty awesome in December.
Okay. But let's talk about the symposium. You two have taken it upon yourself, to organize another gathering. I've been thinking back to the last time we actually did an Oceania physical gathering. I suspect it was in Brisbane pre COVID, when the APF did a sponsored event, when we actually called together. The community,
Elissa Farrow: I've heard, some people have said it was in the early 2000s. not sure whether that is exactly true. but Jeanne and I have been speaking with a range of futurists. various gatherings over the last few years and just went, we need to get the gang back together.
And especially that there's not too many universities that have got dedicated programs. in switches when they were, about 10 years ago we thought, let's stop just talking about it. Let's hold a space, make a space. all about community building and invite our broader, friends from across Oceania to join us, in Brisbane next year.
Peter Hayward: So I noticed that this has actually got a very strong, you talk about this is an Oceania and not Australia, and this is very much around the community. So you are talking to the broader Futures and Foresight community in our part of the world.
Jeanne Hoffman: Yeah, just to take up on, Elissa's point over the years, we both have attended so many conferences, within the region, globally, et cetera.
And I was there at the beginning of the Asia Pacific Futurist Network. when I was at Tamkang University, but there always seemed to be a lack of representation, particularly within the, not just Australia, but New Zealand, the broader Pacific community that started to be addressed in some ways.
There was a small contingent at the Dubai conference. There's a larger contingent, at the APFN, but. The conversations that I've had is that we have a long way to go, and we have much to offer in this region. unique cultures perspectives. indigenous voices and, that emphasis on those perspectives, particularly with some of the big issues that we have today around climate change around intergenerational wisdoms that we need, and, even economics, geopolitics, things like that.
So we just thought this was a good time. Come back with energy and together. We've spoken to so many people around the region. They're excited. There's also some bubbling up of more, gatherings and potential conferences in the future, and we're all talking and joining forces.
It's a really exciting time, for us to get together.
Peter Hayward: Jeanne, you mentioned that you've already been in conversation with representatives around the community. What was it that people were asking for in something like a symposium like this?
Jeanne Hoffman: Yeah exactly that. Just that voice from the region isn't captured and certainly, the cultural wisdoms that come from, The Pacifica community from the First Nations voices in Australia, and this is something missing within a lot of conferences they tend to focus on tech solutions or big but really a voices from the community.
and that's what people are looking for. And listen, you might have some as well.
Elissa Farrow: For me, when I've been speaking to people, it's about a forum to share experiences, of actually doing futures, whether that be research, in consulting formally, in, masterclasses and other processes and share new tools.
new insights but also see if we can, start to grow, a broader understanding of what futures and foresight would be and try to influence some of our more, strategic partners. I was, blessed to go to a couple of futures conferences this year. I went to the APFN in Bangkok and the anticipation conference at Lancaster University.
And both of those, forums, like they're more structured conferences, but we wanted to make sure that this process we're facilitating has a lot of room for people to connect, to share, to have, a whole half day of our conference as a unconference, an open space process.
So people could bring an offer to the table without it being too much of a circus, being more earth centered, heart centered and community building
Jeanne Hoffman: and we did a survey, that went out and people were very much interested in a more grassroots inclusive. The whole part of the purpose was, to really focus on that collaboration over formality, but also to be, have it be community driven rather than the agenda being dictated by some organizations or corporations, or, someone who's given us the money and wants to come in. So that we can have some freedom to experiment and play within the community.
Peter Hayward: So in terms of proceeding for the listeners, there's obviously you are running some themes across the two days.
And also there is Elissa has already touched on the way you are designing the day. So do you want to maybe just. We've those two together, along with there's already these emerging notions of conversation and openness.
Jeanne Hoffman: the first day, is really about, connecting to the past to build in the future.
So day 1 is about grounding and tradition, expanding our future horizons. I think that's the theme we've named. And this is really the importance of emphasizing the importance of integrating the wisdoms, perspectives of the Pacifica and First Nations communities and to futures planning foresight themes are highlight around cultural respect, land stewardship, youth empowerment, intergenerational responsibilities, To shape sustainable and resilient futures.
So we've got keynotes lined up, panel discussions with community leaders. We've got breakout sessions, and all of these things. Yeah, I've just got the agenda here. Elissa, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about that as well.
Elissa Farrow: That's a really beautiful description of day one.
And we do have, an expression of interest out for people who would like to submit an idea. so we've got, space for people to provide an offer. Day two, the theme shifts slightly. It's still very much, connected to building futures, but it's around collaboration and collective action.
The morning is all open space sharing, an opportunity for people to bring case studies or smaller panel processes and an opportunity for the community to come together from an action planning. perspective in the afternoon so that the conference isn't a talk fest. It's also saying, in light of everything shared over the last two days, what do we want to do together to move this forward?
our intention originally, was to make sure that we, hold this first process, but then, if there's energy, Across Oceania that we actually have people to host in other places with the same grassroot styled approach. It could be in Aotearoa, New Zealand, it could be in New Caledonia, it could be in Fiji.
It depends on where the energy and the hub is for this process.
Peter Hayward: How will, given the tremendous indigenous resources that sit within Oceania, And the wisdom and knowledge, how will you integrate that with, what people understand as a way a conference normally runs?
Jeanne Hoffman: I suppose that's because it is community driven. we are free to do whatever we want in a sense. we've obviously had the structure that we put out there with some, opening keynotes and panel discussions and things like breakouts. But, people are certainly invited to put forward their ideas and to create something that is slightly new and different as well as on the 2nd day is really about trying to understand what these overall themes are that people are interested in talking about and then using those themes so that we can start to have breakout rooms and we can have different conversations around that and yeah, I think that's driven by the group as much as anything.
Yeah, so I suppose the thing is, too, is, taking those overall themes, having those discussions and identifying the things that the groups want to take forward where collaborations can happen and again, because this is this is an event that hasn't happened for quite a long time with groups from around the region.
It gives people an opportunity to get together. Who may have not had that chance previously and we can use that this occasion to create those collaborations and opportunities, uh, to carry forward.
Peter Hayward: So let's talk about participation and engagement, because clearly you want people to put the dates in their diary and mark it as something that they would want to attend, but at the same time, you also are opening, giving people an opportunity to participate and identify.
Do you talk through that kind of. process of how people engage with this, record, register, that kind of thing.
Jeanne Hoffman: We've been putting out a lot of we've been putting out a lot of calls for submissions. And calls for speakers and things like that, mostly on LinkedIn and Facebook. We're asking people to act as panelists for workshop facilitators for case study presenters for they want to lead breakout sessions, things like that.
So we've got if you keep an eye on. LinkedIn posts from Elissa, me, whoever's reposted yourself from here you can, yeah, go and fill in those forms to be a call for speakers or get your tickets on sticky tickets. So you can go directly to Sticky Tickets and look up Oceana Futures and Foresight Symposium, and you can see that.
Peter Hayward: We'll have all those links on your show page from this chat as well. So we'll have all those. And in terms of people arranging to get there, where they stay, that kind of thing.
Jeanne Hoffman: Yeah, at the moment, it's we can certainly happy to give suggestions at the moment. It's really for people to self organize, but we're happy to jump into that space.
And if they want to email either Elissa or myself, we can help them directly. That's not a problem because it is community driven. And it's really just Elissa and I, on our imagination about trying to hold the space. The cost that we have for people to buy tickets, which is 400 dollars for a full price ticket and 300 dollars for say, a student price ticket is really just to cover the costs of the venue and to cover the costs of the catering.
And that's essentially it. So we don't have any sponsorship by anybody. It's just a community led event. So all the contribution goes into creating that community, finding that space for us to meet and, of course, feeding us on the day. So once maybe as we. Grow this event, and we're able to perhaps get some donations or sponsorships.
However, it might work. If as long as we can keep the fundamental values we might look for that in the future, but, at the moment, yeah, just go to sticky tickets or when we put up the information on our site, that would be fantastic. And again, I think
Peter Hayward: if I've heard correctly that you want the 1st, one to be this kind of community driven community sourced.
And while in the future you may well find partnerships and sponsorships at this particular point, you're not looking for those because you want this to really be organic. Is that right?
Jeanne Hoffman: That's correct. Look, we're futurists, so we need to look at the possibilities, right?
Elissa Farrow: We also are hopeful that based on our preliminary research and the survey and the conversations that we've had, that people will come.
And we were starting to get registrations rolling through. We also didn't want this to be a competitor to any other conference that's actually occurring. We wanted it to be around community. And so it's slightly different in terms of its focus. a formal process, we're also wanting it to be for want of a better word, be agnostic from professional associations.
So whether you're a member of the Association of Professional Futurists or the World Future Studies Federation or any other professional association for futurists, everyone is welcome. Because it is about who's in the region. What can we do from this regional perspective? And how can we help and support each other?
And the program is going to be really exciting because it's built from the energy within the community. I'm really excited about it all. And Brisbane and Meanjin in April is beautiful.
Peter Hayward: The venue is located within
Elissa Farrow: a 5k radius from Brisbane CBD. We're just in final negotiations at the moment about that.
Peter Hayward: Okay. And you've hinted at this thing that the hope is that if this is successful and is embraced by the community, that this might be something that then travels to other places in the Oceania community.
You want to talk about that?
Jeanne Hoffman: Sure. We've had discussions with people such as Cheryl Doig, who is interested in, she's, going to come and be one of our keynote speakers, she's done a lot of amazing work in New Zealand as well. We've had discussions with her about perhaps, next year, this could be in New Zealand, for example, also with Emily Sharp, some discussions about they're looking at their own futures meeting perhaps within Fiji or wherever that might be in Oceania.
So we're looking to as Elissa says, really building the energy around this community. We're agnostic. So we want this to be a regional. Meeting we don't want it just to be in Brisbane. It's just started because we're both here. And that's just was our default position, but we do not want it to be here all the time.
We want it to travel. We want people who may not be able to get to Australia this year. Maybe next year, they can get to Fiji or 1 of the other Pacific islands. Yeah, that's what we're looking for in the future.
Peter Hayward: And I'll give you a last chance to pitch it to people who've been in the community for, anything up to 10 to 20 years.
Why might? A person like me someone from the sort of, the 90s and 2000s generation, see, this is something that they would want to attend and participate in.
Jeanne Hoffman: Oh, look, there is great energy from the community because we haven't had a meeting for such a long time in this region.
People are really excited. They're asking about it. They're coming to us. We're getting ticket sales. So this is a really great opportunity for these kind of new collaborations. We're seeing energy within the South Pacific community is starting to develop more within Cheryl's network, starting to develop more.
So people coming together, having these collaborative relationships. Building these networks within the region Trying to develop or looking to develop actional insights for their futures work for their foresight work using this symposium as a catalyst for continued dialogue for platforms for initiatives that ultimately reflect the values and aspirations and wisdoms of our region.
And I think that's something that just hasn't been done before. And it's something that people are really asking about. I think if people come they're going to love it, so it's going to be great.
Elissa Farrow: I would think that it's also an opportunity for solving a little challenge that some people have mentioned where they're missing the community.
There's a number of alumni from various university faculties, for example who've lost touch. And so this is an opportunity also to not feel lonely in your futures work in the Oceania region, but to actually go, my gosh, there's more people than what I think, or here is a new collaborator.
And that notion of around intergenerational, those sort of early custodians of futures programs in Australia coming together with some of the newer thinkers, or even as Jeanne and I have coined the term ‘futures curious’ type people to just come and explore what this is all about.
I think it will be an opportunity to come together. As Jeanne mentioned we haven't looked for any external sponsorship for this process. We've tried to go to a community located venue that has green space has the opportunity to get connected to the land around us.
And it's also something that for us will then add to that community vibe of us being able to sit in the sun, have a conversation with a cup of tea about our futures practice, but also what we could take forward into the futures,
Peter Hayward: Thanks Jeanne and Elissa.
I for one will be buying a ticket and being there I'm not going miss this one. So congratulations and thank you on behalf of the Oceania community for you know the effort really put the energy into creating this and Yeah, I do look forward to seeing you in Brisbane, Meanjin next year.
Thank you for this work and thank you for coming on to the FuturePod community and talking about it.
Jeanne Hoffman: Okay. Thank you, Peter. It's been a pleasure. See you in April.
Elissa Farrow: I'll see you in April. 3rd and 4th.
Peter Hayward: You will. You will.
I hope you are also Futures curious enough to consider attending and participating in the Symposium. You will find the important link on their show notes page or you could reach out to Elissa or Jeanne directly. Their contact details are also on their page. FuturePod is a not-for-profit venture. We exist through the generosity of our supporters. If you would like to support the Pod then please check out the Patreon link on our website. I'm Peter Hayward thanks for joining me today. Till next time