7:30PM Wednesday 29th October at the Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier

The Royal Society of New Zealand undertook a major review of the rapidly changing New Zealand population, and the implications of this for the economy, social cohesion, education, and health. Its purpose was to promote informed discussion of the implications of the 2013 New Zealand Census for understanding the changing nature of New Zealand society.

Our Futures: Te Pae Tāwhiti brought together data and analysis from the 2013 census and other sources, together with input from a wide range of researchers, to provide evidence-based pointers to the future of New Zealand society. It covers seven key themes: diversity, population change, tangata whenua, migration, households and families, regional variation, and work.

More information here>

The presentation was delivered by Professor Paul Spoonley.

Distinguished Professor Spoonley is one of New Zealand’s leading academics and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He joined the Massey staff in 1979 and was, until becoming Pro Vice-Chancellor in October 2013, the College’s Research Director and Auckland Regional Director. He has led numerous externally funded research programmes, including the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s $3.2 million Integration of Immigrants  and the $800,000 Nga Tangata Oho Mairangi. He has written or edited 25 books and is a regular commentator in the news media.

In 2010, Professor Spoonley was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of California Berkeley and in 2013, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Goettingen. He was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand Science and Technology medal in 2009 in recognition of his academic scholarship, leadership and public contribution to cultural understanding  and in 2011, his contribution to Sociology was acknowledged with the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand’s scholarship for exceptional service to New Zealand sociology. In 2013, he was given the title of Distinguished Professor, Massey University’s highest academic title.