New Zealand: indigenous knowledge shaping the long view

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What New Zealand did

New Zealand has strong foundations for long-term governance, with civil society drawing on Treaty of Waitangi obligations and wellbeing economy thinking to bring indigenous perspectives into national life. Two strands of work stand out. The Tomorrow Together campaign, led by WEAll Aotearoa with cross-sector civil society partners, is a rangatahi (youth) led movement calling for a Future Generations Act, including a dedicated Commissioner to safeguard the interests of those to come. Meanwhile the Ngāi Tahu iwi has pioneered futures approaches rooted in whānau (family) and whenua (land), aligning cultural identity with environmental stewardship.

Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash 

How it Delivered

Ngāi Tahu's frameworks now guide tribal governance, economic strategy and contributions to national policy, showing what it looks like when a community plans across generations as a matter of course. The Tomorrow Together campaign has built a broad coalition behind legislation for future generations: its discussion document was launched at Parliament, hosted by the youngest MPs from across the main parties alongside former Prime Ministers Jim Bolger and Sir Geoffrey Palmer, keeping the proposal alive in national debate. The case has external backing too, with the Productivity Commission having recommended a parliamentary commissioner for future generations in its 2023 Fair Chance for All report.

What Made it Work?

The two strands reinforce each other. Indigenous leadership offers a living tradition of intergenerational responsibility, while the wellbeing economy movement provides a policy framework that governments can act on. Together they make the case for anticipatory governance in terms that are both culturally grounded and practically transferable.

Future Generations Takeaway

Some communities have never stopped thinking in generations. New Zealand shows the power of pairing that inherited wisdom with modern policy advocacy, so that care for family and land becomes the basis of national governance. Keeping the future open sometimes means listening to those who have kept it open all along.

This case study is based on one kindly shared with us by the us by School of International Futures (SOIF) and can be found in their digital implementation handbook: 'One Year in Practice: Stories of Global Action for Future Generations'.  We have updated and expanded some case studies with more recent developments and additional sources where relevant.