As New Zealand heads towards a pivotal general election,
organisers of the recent Reality of Everything
Symposium are urging New Zealanders to engage with the
defining challenge of our time: the planetary polycrisis.
They say that without a much broader public and political
understanding of the interconnected crises shaping our
present and future, meaningful action will fall short of
what is urgently needed.
Organisers of the sold-out
symposium have now made the recordings of expert briefings,
along with transcripts and key points, freely available
online, with the aim of shifting the national conversation
towards the interconnected challenges that will shape our
country’s future. The recordings represent New Zealand’s
first freely accessible, cross-disciplinary briefing series
on the polycrisis: covering climate change, biodiversity
collapse, Te Tiriti, energy realities, food security, public
health, trade and public finance.
Organisers say the
recordings and supporting material provide a valuable public
resource, enabling New Zealanders to engage with the
evidence long after the symposium itself.
“The
symposium was not intended to be just a one-day event,”
says organiser Dr Catherine Knight.
“Our goal has
always been to build understanding across New Zealand
society. By making these resources freely available, we’re
giving people the tools to understand how these issues
connect, why they matter, and why they deserve much greater
attention in public debate.”
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The symposium attracted
strong public interest, with in-person tickets selling out
within two months of being announced and hundreds more
participating via livestream.
Knight says that level
of interest reflects a growing recognition that many of the
challenges affecting everyday life in New Zealand cannot be
understood in isolation.
“People are experiencing
rising insurance costs, increasing food prices, pressure on
health services, extreme weather events and growing
international instability. These are often discussed as
separate issues, but they are profoundly
interconnected.”
“Unless we understand the whole
system, we risk treating symptoms rather than
causes.”
With the November 2026 election
approaching, organisers believe the recordings provide an
opportunity for voters, journalists, policymakers and
community leaders to engage with evidence that is often
missing from political discussion. Organisers say they hope
the recordings will be widely shared through workplaces,
universities, schools, community organisations and
professional networks to help build awareness across
society.
“We’re not suggesting these briefings
contain all the answers,” Knight says. “But meaningful
action begins with an honest understanding of reality.
Democracies work better and produce better decisions when
citizens are well informed, and we hope these resources help
foster a richer national conversation about the future we
want to create.”
“The lead up to the election
provides an opportunity to have a more informed conversation
about the realities we face and the choices
ahead.”
The recordings, transcripts and key points
are available free at https://realityofeverything.org.
