Welcome to Arotake-Makariri, our Winter Review - a chance to pause, reflect, and celebrate the people and partnerships that drive Aspen Institute New Zealand. Your support as active participants and donors makes our work possible.

As the Aspen Institute marks its 75th anniversary this month, we’re reminded that its founding purpose - to unite diverse voices in pursuit of a freer, fairer society - remains just as relevant today. While global challenges grow more complex, so too does the need for leadership grounded in clarity, courage, and connection. More….

Participants from diverse backgrounds, young and old, joined international experts from Singularity University, Google NZ and Massey University for MISINFORMATION CHALLENGES, Aspen’s fifth seminar in the Future Challenges: Systems thinking and Values based Leadership series, a two-day online event exploring misinformation issues in a year that has been dominated by pandemic induced fake news.

Graeme Acton, Asia Media Centre Manager said:

The level of debate was an extremely good combination of real world dynamics, academic thought leadership and insightful points of view from a varied group of people.

In the face of bad news, bad information compounds the damage. As we are overcome by uncertainty and very real unknowns regarding the pandemic, politics, war and natural disasters we encourage you to fully understand the scope of the disinformation challenge, but here are some steps you can take to prevent transmission.

Photo: On a footpath in Queenstown Aug 2021