Michelle wears Kowtow ‘Florence’ dress, $289, and Kathryn Wilson ‘Ella’ sandals, $299.
All other items her own.
For all the change discussed in this feature, climate change isn’t one to be celebrated, yet thanks to visionaries like Michelle Kennedy, more of us are coming together to drive climate action in tangible ways, mobilising our communities to future-proof the planet.
“There’s definitely a huge groundswell, with climate considerations now driving individual choices and becoming embedded in the core operational ethos of many organisations,” she says, putting the mainstream acceptance of climate change down to the fact that, “it’s far too risky to not think about it”.
Auckland Climate Festival is the flagship initiative of Six Generations, a social enterprise Kennedy set up in early 2021 to accelerate and celebrate climate action in Aotearoa.
The festival enables a whole-of-society response to the crisis, helping leaders across different spheres to host events, initiatives and activations that make sense to their communities. In 2022, it brought together more than 150 events across the month of October.
Now fully focused on 2023 and a looming national election “where climate policies must be front and centre”, Kennedy says an important step will be shifting our focus from sustainability, “which is about maintaining the status quo”, to the concept of regeneration, “where all decision-making produces net positive outcomes, not just in relation to emissions but across a range of indicators for society. It encourages a holistic view of climate action that takes into account the co-benefits of change.”
She’s emphatic that centring mātauranga Māori/Māori knowledge perspectives as part of our climate response will be crucial, “and we also need to support our Pasifika communities. We’re currently experiencing a wave of migration from the islands to Aotearoa as a direct result of climate change, and we need to think about what this means for our city.”
Words: Phoebe Watt
Photography: Guy Coombes
About FQ’s Class of 2022 Changemakers
As the sun sets on 2022 and rises on another year ripe for change — be it individual or collective, domestic or global, big or small — Michelle Kennedy is one of seven remarkable women from around Aotearoa who have affected positive change in fields as varied as journalism and the creative arts through to beauty and sustainability. Through their mahi and vision, the lives, legislative rights and legacies of our people and our planet have been changed for the better. Let their challenges and triumphs inspire you to identify a change you wish to tackle in your career and personal life, and motivate you to take that first important step.
Learn more about our FQ Changemakers in our Summer 2023 Issue.
