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Navigating the future This period of unprecedented change requires a robust and resilient response. The Sport NZ Futures Project outlines mega-trends and drivers of change that will shape the future of play, active recreation and sport. Its objectives are: • Expand awareness • Challenge assumptions • Provide direction and
Figure 1 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20131115-green-wonder-your-park-in-2050
Implications for recreation These identified areas of change have clear implications for recreation. •
Technology: increasing influence on physical activity – what, how and where
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Data: Insights into wellbeing require sensitivity including issues of data sovereignty
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Demography: a population that is ageing, and increasingly diverse; the changing nature of work, including the age profile of the workforce and volunteers
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Inclusion and equity: inequality will increase if left unchecked, requiring collective effort to address issues
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Bi-cultural partnership: Full commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi through policy, planning and provision
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Localism: community responsiveness and involvement; developing resilience, and enhancing autonomy
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Climate change: increase sustainable practice [reduction, mitigation, response]; building infrastructure resilience
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The sharing economy: investing in collaborative consumption; leveraging services, use rather than own
• Improve the sector’s ability to respond to the challenges it faces. The highly participative process included workshops, environmental scans, parallel conversations with Māori, and surveys. It engaged thought-leaders across play, active recreation, and sport, including Recreation Aotearoa members. A suite of published reports distils deep-thinking and research, and includes imagined futures, the challenges these pose and potential responses. Specific reports include: • • • • •
Future Leisure Influences Demographic Change Climate Change Maori Environmental Scan System-Level Opportunities
All Futures reports are available on the Ihi Aotearoa - Sport NZ website here.
Challenges for recreation identified in the Futures process are: •
Declining participation in traditional sport and increasing active recreation participation
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Barriers to participation still exist – social, physical, financial
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Pressured lifestyles and conflicting demands reduce people’s free time
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Lack of integration and coordination across the sector, with many groups competing for the same resources
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Risk averse governance keeping organisations stuck with underperforming operational and service delivery models
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Mono-cultural dominance that is blind to our bicultural and superdiverse nation
Insights Report contributions – Fight, Flight or Freezecontinuing in the Red Zone to be undervalued. •NZRAVolunteer
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