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Future-Ready Capabilities
Join us for a future-focused and hopeful discussion about the capabilities that really matter for young people in Aotearoa. Our guest speakers are experienced, respected educators with a focus on learning that nurtures student agency and wellbeing. As we navigate the changes to our education system, this discussion will reaffirm the importance of place-based and student-led environmental education in our schools, kura and communities.
Guest speakers: Derek Wenmoth, Kylie Horgan and Philippa Wintle
Our speakers will draw on the recently published Future-ready Capabilities report. This new framework emerged from the conversations of a group of educators, researchers and business leaders at the EdRising event held in Auckland in July 2025. It comes from a starting point that is uniquely Aotearoa NZ. Rather than adapting an international model, it was built from the ground up by people who brought their own professional knowledge and cultural contexts to the task. The result is six capabilities:
- Ecological thinking
- Cultural fluency
- Digital wisdom
- Creative problem solving
- Collective agency and leadership
- Adaptive resilience
Click on the button link above to register for this free webinar.
About the Speakers
Derek Wenmoth is regarded as one of NZ's foremost Future Focused thinkers in education. He works extensively with educators across all areas of the education sector as they seek to prepare students for their future. He also consults with policy makers and government agencies regarding the future directions of NZ educational policy and practice. Derek has been a teacher, principal, teacher educator, distance educator, e-learning specialist and education policy advisor. In 2013 he co-founded CORE Education, a not-for-profit education research and development organisation. He stepped away from this position in 2017 to enable him to pursue his interest in developing FutureMakers.
Kylie Horgan is an educator, futures and strategic foresight practitioner, and founder of Futures Labs HQ. She is passionate about designing learning experiences that help young people develop the confidence, capabilities, and agency to thrive in a world that is changing faster than ever before. Recognising that education systems cannot always adapt at the pace of technological, environmental, economic, and societal change, Kylie founded Futures Labs HQ to help bridge the gap between learning and the rapidly evolving world beyond the classroom. Futures Labs connects young people with high-growth industries, emerging opportunities, and the complex challenges shaping our future, expanding their understanding of what is possible while developing the futures-ready capabilities needed to navigate uncertainty.
Philippa Wintle is an experienced educational leader currently serving as Deputy Principal at Kelston Girls' College, bringing deep expertise in whānau-centred pastoral care, student wellbeing, and culturally sustaining leadership. Now in her 19th year in education, her career spans secondary teacher and senior leadership roles across NZ, Australia, and the UK, including curriculum leadership and teacher education. Philippa is passionate about socially just, equitable education and believes strongly in the power of collaboration, critical reflection, and strong relationships to transform outcomes for young people. Alongside her school leadership, she has contributed to the wider education sector through national leadership roles, published research, and conference presentations focused on reflective practice and community engagement.
