Critical times call for Critical Signals
Emily Malcolm and Clay Joy Smith
If you are fed up with economic greed, the insane power of corporations, and the lack of local, face-to-face conversations—and believe the solution lies in learning, community-building and people power—welcome to Critical Signals.
Critical Signals is a three-month programme running until the end of October. The idea is to bring together communities, technologists, artists, activists, and researchers to discuss collective changes we can make to our city and society. This looks like workshops on detangling ourselves from Big Tech, art installations, spaces for conversations about the future of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and more.
The future we want can feel far away, and it's scary as shit. The job market sucks, so what can we do about it as students? I know I'm not alone in feeling like the start of my career relies on the whim of some unnamed hiring manager—someone to pick me (please!) from a swathe of graduates.
It can sound naive to talk about the power of people coming together in situations like these, but isn't that where change has always come from? To create a future with a wealth of impactful work to contribute to, don't we first need to come together and talk about what that future could look like? Let's build things together, workshop our own initiatives, and become stronger because of it.
Everyone has something to add: their own aspirations and their own vision to bring to the table. What solutions could we find, for example, to problems in housing, food systems and disaster response? These are some of the topics Critical Signals is exploring, but the programme is primarily about building community and purpose among Wellington residents. It brings together people from across Te Whanganui-a-Tara and beyond to find new ideas, bring their own, and start putting future-ready alternatives into practice.
It was a chance discovery on Eventfinda that led me to these gatherings on Taranaki Street. At a time when LinkedIn tech-bro-style “networking” seemed to be the only option, I have loved every opportunity to meet people kanohi ki te kanohi. There is so much to learn from people who have spent years creating new community spaces and developing solutions to a wide range of issues.
I knew that community-building and rich conversations could make global issues feel less daunting, and here is a space in our city that has been crafted for exactly that purpose. It's right here—and participation is an invaluable part of helping the initiative continue to flourish.
