“In the Citizen Story, we see ourselves as the creative, capable, caring creatures we are. We realise that all of us are smarter than any of us. We get involved.”

Toi Āria — Design for Public Good at Massey University invites you to join us for an evening of inspiration and shared reflection with one of the world’s leading voices on ‘community power’, Jon Alexander. Mark Prain, Founder & Kaitiaki of the Hillary Institute of International Leadership will lead an open conversation with Jon, exploring perspectives on how we might design well for a truly 'citizen' future.

Jon's book Citizens charts the recent rise of the ‘Citizen Story’ across politics, business, civil society and in our communities, and explores how it is challenging the fundamental nature and assumptions of our institutions — as well as showing what we can all do to play our part in the transformation. Citizens was selected by McKinsey as one of its Top 5 Recommended Books in its Summer Reading Guide 2022, has been described by the Financial Times as ‘an underground hit’, and will soon be featured in the World Economic Forum Book Club.

Jon began his career in advertising, winning the prestigious ‘Big Creative Idea of the Year’, before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In Citizens, he is sharing them with the world.

Toi Āria is delighted to be hosting the Aotearoa New Zealand launch of Citizens. As a research unit with a focus on deep engagement and participation, we’re curious about what the 'Citizen Story' means for how we design for a better future. What can we be doing right now, to equip ourselves and future generations to transform the systems that no longer serve us?

Please join us for drinks (cash bar) and nibbles from 5pm — we’ll kick off the conversation around 5.45. The event is free to attend but numbers are limited so please register with the Get Tickets button above to be sure of your spot.