“The future is something that we create collaboratively.”
Lewis Akenji from the Hot or Cool Institute asks three questions that encourage us to picture the future we want, and to identify the systemic risks we must address to get there.
Filmed at our #CurrentsOfChange symposium by Clara Carbajo.
“If you’re willing to see knowledge, if you’re willing to look at justice through other lenses and perspectives, it’s easier to understand how systems function...”
— Rishika Das Roy, India Climate Collaborative
Filmed during our #CurrentsOfChange symposium.
#systemicrisk #socialjustice
“Complex system science can help us to learn to think in that breadth beyond the narrow silos in which most of us have been educated.”
Arthur Lyon Dahl, International Environment Forum, offers his insight on addressing #SystemicRisks during our #CurrentsOfChange symposium.
What does it really mean to put justice and future generations at the heart of #SystemicRisk responses?
Watch two powerful speakers from the #CurrentsOfChange symposium explore this question in depth. 📽️
Full talk on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ3t...
The systems meant to support us—social, financial, political, environmental—show deep signs of strain, trust is eroding & risks are accelerating. We asked a panel of experts at our #CurrentsOfChange symposium: What will it take to meet this moment?
Watch full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHT...
Earlier this month, we hosted #CurrentsOfChange, ASRA’s first global symposium bringing together 250+ transdisciplinary leaders to face today’s #SystemicRisks.
In this video, our team shares what made it special, what moved them, and why “honest hope” isn’t just a motto - it’s a mindset.
🧵 What does it take to support better decisions on complex, interconnected risks?
At #CurrentsOfChange by ASRA, we joined global experts to explore how to address systemic risks more effectively. A few highlights from the conversation 👇
bit.ly/4jPldbR
Ruth Richardson and Ayan Mahamoud in a panel discussion
The symposium attendees mingle in front of Les Fontaines chateau
Alice Ruhweza and Shama Karkal in a panel discussion
A breakout group enjoy the beautiful grounds
After a full few days, our #CurrentsOfChange symposium has come to a close. But the striking ideas, different ways of thinking & open spirit brought to the symposium by its participants and speakers will stay with us.
A huge thanks to everyone involved. Let's keep the momentum going! #systemicrisk
Jordan Schwartz speaking on stage at Currents of Change symposium
We’re pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on a policy brief that reframes risk for multilateral development banks.
Jordan Schwartz, Vice President, IDB, gave the closing keynote at our #CurrentsOfChange symposium this morning. Stand by for more.
Photo of exhibition piece: Aliens at the Table: Food Class Trilogy, Keyi Shi In 2049, faced with ecological imbalance and species invasion, the UK government introduces a policy to encourage dining on invasive species. Aliens at the Table explores what happens when pests are redefined as high-end luxury goods, reimagining the relationship between food culture, capital operation, ecological governance and the spatial dining experience. (Artefact: 1. Knotweed Acid Caviar, 2. Black Shell Crab Onigiri, 3. Macra-Crab Substitute)
Photo of exhibition piece: Entropy Extinction by Aoyen Chen The nuclear revival of 2026 has brought a stable source of clean energy to society, making the issue of spent fuel disposal increasingly critical. In 2040, China launches the world's first nuclear fuel zero-waste laboratory, aiming to balance energy production with environmental protection. A hidden cost reveals itself when surrounding areas increase in surface temperature and people are forced to adapt. (Artefact: cork shoe clip-on)
Photo of exhibition piece: Portioned by Juliette Porisse By 2050, ultra-processed food dominates and fresh ingredients are strictly rationed. This study explores the divides in access to fresh and nutrient rich foods over ultra-processed food, or UPF. It examines UPF impact on agriculture, microbiome health, societal structures, and ethical dilemmas around food access and overconsumption in a changing climate. (Artefact: food container in recycled card and glass)
Photo of exhibition piece: Iron Steppe by Oleksandra Umanska In a near-future Ukraine, years after the war, a vast, semi-autonomous cleanup effort unfolds across a scarred landscape joined by a volunteer movement to reclaim land and clear it of landmines and post-war debris. Amongst the ruins, not everything is as it first seems. (Artefact: stuffed toy with speaker device)
We’re thrilled to partner with superFUTURES on an exhibition of ‘future artefacts’ & speculative films at our #CurrentsofChange symposium.
Nature’s Depot, led by Gem Barton, is a research-led spatial futures project, devised in collaboration with DEFRA.
Learn more: superfutures.rca.ac.uk
📣 Demo launch of STEER: A new tool to assess and respond to #SystemicRisks.
STEER combines two core pathways: Systemic Risk Assessment and Systemic Risk Response. These work together to guide users from insight to action through a structured, evidence-based process.
🧵 1/2 #CurrentsOfChange
Christiana Figueres, former UNFCCC Executive Secretary & co-host of climate podcast @outrageoptimism.bsky.social called for leaders to be both humble and courageous at ASRA's #CurrentsofChange symposium this morning.
Watch a clip from Christiana's brilliant speech. 📽️
Ben Okri speaking at the Currents of Change symposium
Ben Okri and Ruth Richardson speak together on stage at the Currents of Change symposium
"We need to cultivate a heightened awareness if we are going to become warriors of humanity's best future." - Poet Ben Okri's powerful words at our #CurrentsOfChange symposium.
He says "The best and wisest use of our time apart from fighting injustice is dreaming a new future & working towards it."
Poet Ben Okri on Becoming the Change kicks off the #CurrentsofChange conference @asranetwork.org. Looking forward to 2 days of learning from wide range of people & bringing that thinking to @Riskknowhow.bsky.social. About our responsibility on Earth: "we are here to transform and be transformed"
The forest you see is a detailed recreation of a real place in the Colombian Amazon rainforest in the Leticia region in the southernmost tip of Colombia along the Amazon River. This area of the Amazon is home to the Ticuna people, who also inhabit the wider Leticia area alongside the Witoto, Inga, Tucano, and Nukak communities who have stewarded the land for thousands of years. The large central tree is a Capinuri. In the soil below lies an intricate network of mycorrhizal fungi. The photo is a still from a video where the intricate flow of carbon (red particles), water, and oxygen (both blue particles) move from the soil line up to the forest canopy and out into the air.
We tend to think of ourselves as sealed-off individuals. The exhibition ‘Breathing with the Forest’ challenges us to reconsider the boundaries of our bodies to feel how inextricably embedded we are in a web of life.
Created by Marshmallow Laser Feast. Showing at our #CurrentsOfChange symposium.
Really excited to be at the #CurrentsOfChange symposium with the lovely @asranetwork.org team today.
The SuperFUTURES exhibition and Marshmallow Laser Feast artworks are looking incredible.
'Currents of Change New Horizons in Systemic Risk' sea-green banner hung in the symposium's hallway
We’re excited to open the doors to our #CurrentsOfChange symposium today!
Over the next couple of days, 250 people from diverse disciplines and 50 different countries will gather together to attempt to better understand #SystemicRisk & surface ways to do so.
Watch this space for the highlights.
Currents of Change: New Horizons in Systemic Risk event banner in a palette of sea greens.
We’re nearly there. This weekend, the first-ever transdisciplinary, global symposium dedicated to action on systemic risk takes place in France.
We’ll be sharing insights, video highlights, and artistic collaborations from the #CurrentsOfChange symposium here.
www.asranetwork.org/news/current...
