Inaugural International Conference: Rethinking Tomorrow: Emerging Research for Social Change
1-2 December 2025
Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau | Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa | New Zealand
We live in a time of precarity, uncertainty and unrest: the climate emergency is escalating, far-right ideologies are mainstream, political and social systems and society is becoming increasingly post-digital and artificially intelligent. How are we – as researchers, professionals, advocates, activists – responding to the challenges of our time? What innovations could enable a more equitable and sustainable society for younger generations? How might we imagine, foster, and enable social changes that are lasting, resilient, and sustainable? How might we share and collaborate to build what Pierre A. Lévy calls our collective intelligence, that is our capacity as human communities, to cooperate in creation, innovation, invention and we should add, interventions? And importantly, how might we communicate our creation, innovation, invention and interventions?
Across the two days, over 70 presenters showcased their research, their insights and their perspectives on how we can RETHINK TOMORROW. The three keynotes were: Dr Gary Payinda, Dr Emmy Rākete, and Professor Mohan Dutta.
