Wānaka has long been renowned as a place of learning.

Day One of Wao Summit 2026 invites us to reconnect with the meaning of place by stepping back to see the bigger picture.

Featuring an exceptional line up of leading academics, researchers and thought leaders, the day explores the interconnected systems that shape our world through the lenses of climate, health, systems thinking, nature, resources and democracy. Challenging assumptions and expanding perspectives, this is the event you never knew you needed, offering the knowledge, context and inspiration to better understand an increasingly complex world and our place within it.

DAY PROGRAMME

Tuesday 27 July

10:00AM: Welcome with Monique Kelly

10:30AM: Systems not Silos

11:15AM: The Climate Health Nexus

12:00PM: Te Taiao Lunch

1:00PM: Beyond Climate

1:45PM: Investing in Nature

2:30PM: Afternoon Tea

3:00PM: Critical Minerals: At What Cost?

3:45PM: The Afterlife of Plastics

5:30PM: Photography Exhibition: Once Were Farmers

6:30PM: Evening Kōrero - The Election Conversation (seperate Kōrero ticket required)

Schedule subject to change, any updates will be communicated here and to ticket holders.

SESSION DETAILS - CLICK ON A SESSION FOR FULL DETAILS

Join Monique to open Wao Summit 2026 and introduce you to our latest research project: Journey to 2126

Journey to 2126 is a bold research project exploring what it will take for people and nature to thrive over the next century.

What would it mean to make decisions today that future generations would thank us for 100 years from now?

Journey to 2126 is Wao's long term research initiative exploring the conditions needed for people, communities and Te Taiao to thrive over the next century. Bringing together systems thinking, science, community perspectives and future focused research, the project seeks to better understand the interconnected challenges shaping our future and identify the pathways towards long term resilience.

This opening session introduces the purpose, questions and aspirations behind the research. Rather than predicting the future, Journey to 2126 asks how we can become better ancestors by making wiser decisions today.

As the foundation for the Wao Summit, this research provides the context for the conversations that follow and invites everyone to become part of a shared journey towards a thriving Aotearoa in 2126.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Explore how systems thinking helps us navigate complexity, strengthen food resilience, and create lasting change in an increasingly interconnected world.

Many of today's greatest challenges—food security, freshwater, climate, biodiversity and community wellbeing—cannot be solved in isolation. They are interconnected parts of complex living systems that require new ways of thinking.

In this session, Dr Melissa Robson-Williams explores how systems thinking can help us better understand complexity and identify opportunities for meaningful change. Drawing on her work across land, water and food systems, Melissa will demonstrate how bringing together diverse perspectives, embracing uncertainty and recognising relationships between people and nature can lead to more resilient outcomes.

Using food resilience as a practical lens, she will unpack why well-intentioned solutions often fail when they address symptoms rather than underlying system dynamics, and how we can shift our thinking from fixing individual problems to strengthening the health of the whole system.

This session offers practical insights for anyone interested in creating resilient communities, regenerative food systems and a future where both people and nature can thrive together.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Discover why climate change is one of the greatest health challenges of our time and what it means for the wellbeing of people and communities.

Climate change is reshaping the conditions that support human health. From extreme heat and poor air quality to food security, infectious diseases and mental wellbeing, its impacts are already being felt in communities around the world.

Drawing on her experience with the World Health Organization, Nancy Wong explores the climate health nexus and why understanding this relationship is essential for building resilient communities. She will examine how environmental change influences health outcomes, who is most vulnerable, and the opportunities to improve both human and planetary wellbeing through climate action.

This session brings together global evidence and practical insights to show that protecting the environment is also an investment in healthier people and stronger communities. Whether you work in health, policy, business or community development, you will gain a deeper understanding of why climate change is not only an environmental issue, but one of the defining health challenges of our time.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Climate change is one part of a much bigger story. Discover how Earth's interconnected systems shape the challenges and opportunities of our future.

Climate change is not an isolated problem to solve. It is one expression of a much larger system of interconnected environmental, social and economic change.

In this session, Dr Cathrine Dyer from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington steps back to examine the bigger picture. Why are climate change, biodiversity loss, freshwater decline, food security, economic pressures and community resilience so closely linked? What happens when we address one challenge without considering the others?

Drawing on systems thinking and the latest climate research, Cathrine will explore the feedbacks, connections and tipping points that shape our world. Rather than focusing solely on emissions or climate impacts, she will demonstrate why lasting solutions depend on understanding the relationships between the systems that support life.

This session will equip participants with a systems perspective for making sense of complexity and show why building resilience requires us to think beyond individual issues and towards the health of the whole system.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Nature is not external to the economy. It is the foundation on which it depends. Discover what this means for resilience, investment and prosperity.

Climate change, biodiversity loss and resource pressures are changing how we think about economic resilience. Increasingly, organisations are recognising that healthy ecosystems are fundamental to the performance of communities, businesses and infrastructure.

This presentation explores the emerging field of natural capital and nature markets, showing how natural systems can be understood as measurable assets that reduce risk, strengthen resilience and create long-term value.

Drawing on practical examples from across Aotearoa, Sam Parsons will demonstrate how organisations are moving beyond awareness to action by mapping natural assets, establishing ecological baselines and integrating nature into strategic planning and investment decisions.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Behind every EV battery, smartphone and data centre are communities living with the realities of resource extraction. What does a just transition really look like?

Every solar panel, EV battery, smartphone, data centre and piece of modern infrastructure begins with materials extracted from the Earth. As demand for critical minerals and other essential resources continues to grow, so too do the impacts on the landscapes and communities where they are found.

In this session, Professor Glenn Banks from Massey University explores the human dimensions of resource extraction. Drawing on decades of research into mining, resource governance and community development, he examines how global demand for minerals shapes the lives, livelihoods and futures of the people living closest to extraction.

As the world pursues decarbonisation, digitalisation and continued economic growth, difficult questions emerge. Who benefits from resource extraction? Who bears the environmental and social costs? How can communities meaningfully participate in decisions about the resources on which modern society depends?

And ultimately, is it possible 'to live well with extraction'?

This session invites us to look beyond the technologies we celebrate and consider the people and places that make them possible. It challenges us to rethink what a just and resilient future looks like when the materials we rely on come with real consequences for communities around the world.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Since the introduction of plastics in 1907, they have transformed our world. However, their story doesn't end when we throw them away. Emeritus Professor Ian Shaw explores how plastics become microplastics, their journey through ecosystems and our bodies, and the emerging evidence associating them with environmental and human health impacts.

It all began in the USA in 1907 when Leo Baekerland created the first plastic. One hundred and eighteen years on and plastics are part of almost every bit of our lives. Our kitchen utensils, surgical equipment, mobile phones, computers and cars comprise huge amounts of plastics. To give an idea of the meteoric rise in plastic manufacture, in 1960 about 10 million tonnes were manufactured and by 2014 more than 300 million tonnes were produced. Plastics have a huge economic value because of their broad application to all aspects of our lives – this is their all-important life. But what happens when we have finished with them? What is their afterlife?

Most plastics end up in landfills or are discarded into the environment by careless users. While there are few bacteria that fully degrade plastics, constant erosion by the sea or earth abrasion breaks plastics into smaller and smaller fragments, eventually becoming microplastics (2 µm to 10 mm across) which persist in the environment. 

The millions of tonnes of plastics in the environment are slowly being converted to microplastics. Now almost everywhere on earth is contaminated. They are filtered from marine environments by filter feeders (e.g., mussels) which affects their growth and development, and they are appearing in plants, including many vegetables consumed by humans. In addition, microplastics are light and can become airborne. All facets of the earth’s environment are now contaminated. We are constantly exposed to microplastics in our food, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.

Plastics also contain other chemicals. For example, plasticisers are used to modify the physical properties of everyday plastics – they make them soft, bendable and stretchy. When plastics enter the environment, these plasticisers leach out or are carried within microplastics. Many plasticisers are biologically active. Some mimic the female hormone, estrogen and have feminising effects on humans and animals. They might influence the incidence of some hormone-driven cancers (e.g., breast cancer) or confuse animal reproduction processes. 

Further, as microplastics are transported around the earth on ocean currents, they adsorb environmental pollutants (e.g., pesticides) and carry them to their human and animal destinations. The implications of this can currently only be imagined.

The potential for plastics via plasticisers or microplastics to impact ecosystems or human health is becoming fact. The impact of estrogen mimics on ecosystems is well understood, their impact on human health is becoming understood, and there are the first inklings of associations between microplastics and human diseases such as early onset colorectal cancer.

In his talk, Professor Shaw will explore the mechanisms and effects that underpin the environmental and health impacts of plastics and speculate on where it is all leading.

YOUR SPEAKERS

Better Business Day brings together visionary leaders, practical thinkers and purpose-driven businesses to explore what leadership looks like in a rapidly changing world. Through workshops, inspiring conversations and real-world examples, discover how hope, innovation and purpose can help create resilient businesses, stronger communities and a thriving future for generations to come.

DAY PROGRAMME

Tuesday 27 July

7:00AM: Morning Flow (optional)

8:30AM: The Networking Breakfast

9:00AM: Designing Hopeful Futures

11:00AM: Morning Tea

11:30PM: Becoming Future Makers

12:30PM: Better Business Lunch

1:30PM: Navigating Tomorrow: Technology in a Changing World

2:45PM: Business as a Force for Good

5:30PM: The Buffer Zone

6:30pm: Evening Kōrero - The Age of Complexity: Navigating an Interconnected World (seperate ticket required)

Schedule subject to change, any updates will be communicated here and to ticket holders.

SESSION DETAILS - CLICK ON A SESSION FOR FULL DETAILS