Holding On to What Matters in a Fast-Changing World

Last week I had the privilege of attending the ACE Aotearoa Conference and Annual Awards in Auckland. As a member of the ACE Aotearoa Board, it was a chance to connect with adult and community educators from across the country, celebrate achievements, and reflect on the opportunities and challenges facing our sector.

The conference explored both Artificial Intelligence and Ancestral Intelligence. At first glance these ideas might seem worlds apart, but many of the conversations centred on a common question: how do we navigate change while holding on to what matters most?

One speaker described our current moment as “the age of monsters” — a time when old systems and certainties are fading while the shape of what comes next is not yet fully clear. It captures something many of us recognise: we are living through a period of rapid change. Technology is evolving at an extraordinary pace, the way we access information is changing, and many of the assumptions that shaped previous generations are being challenged.

Alongside these big conversations were practical discussions about teaching, learning and community. I came away with pages of notes, new ideas, and a renewed appreciation for the importance of taking time to reflect on our practice. In busy organisations it is easy to move from one task to the next without stopping to ask what is working, what could be improved, and what we might learn from one another.

But perhaps my biggest takeaway was not about technology or educational theory.

It was about people.

Photo of Anne Troy (Wellington High School & Ace board), Hannah Pia Baral (CEO Ace Aotearoa), Lottie Vinson (CWEA Director & Ace Board) at the ace annual awards ceremony.

The conference was full of laughter, song, conversation and generosity. It was a reminder that throughout Aotearoa there are thousands of people working quietly in their communities to create opportunities for others. They are running classes, supporting learners, creating welcoming spaces, building connections, and helping people participate more fully in the life of their communities.

One of the ironies of our time is that information has never been more accessible. We can learn almost anything online. Yet connection remains something that cannot simply be downloaded.

The more our lives are mediated through screens, algorithms and digital platforms, the more valuable places for genuine human connection become. Places where people can gather, learn together, disagree respectfully, share skills, tell stories, ask questions, and build relationships.

For more than 110 years, people have come through CWEA’s doors seeking knowledge, conversation, creativity, and connection. The subjects have changed. The tools have certainly changed. But the human desire to learn alongside others remains remarkably constant.

As I travelled home, I found myself reflecting on just how important those opportunities for connection are. Not only in our classrooms and workshops, but in community centres, libraries, sports clubs, marae, volunteer organisations, and all the other places where people come together around shared interests and common purpose.

I left Auckland feeling hopeful.

Not because the challenges facing our communities (and indeed the world) are small. They are not.

But because I was reminded that across the country there are people showing up every day to help others learn, connect, and thrive. I am grateful to be part of that work, and grateful that CWEA continues to play its small part in the life of our community.

Lottie