Call for Session Proposals, Abstracts and Posters

Kia ora and warm Pacific Greetings!

The next Adaptation Futures biennial conference will be held on 13-16 October 2025 in Otautahi/Christchurch New Zealand. Adaptation Futures is the flagship event of the World Adaptation Science Program (WASP). It is the premier international climate change adaptation conference series where researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and community advocates from across the world gather to network, collaborate, learn, inspire and accelerate adaptation action.

Adaptation Futures 2025 (AF2025) is a hybrid event hosted by WASP and the University of Canterbury with Christchurch NZ, University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, Lincoln University, Environment Canterbury, NZ Government Agencies, sponsors and our foundation partner. 

The Patrons of AF2025 are Mr Abdalah Mokssit (Chair WASP/IPCC); Sefanaia Nawadra (Director General SPREP) and Ms Lisa Tumahai, (CEO for Pokeka Poutini Ngai Tahu Ltd and Deputy Chair for the He Pou a Rangi the NZ Climate Change Commission).

Submissions open: 31 October 2024
Submissions close: 25 February 2025

Conference Overarching Theme: Accelerating Adaptation Action

Accelerating adaptation action in ways that integrate mitigation and adaptation efforts justly, and equitably, to advance sustainable development is an urgent task. Accelerating adaptation demands effective, inclusive and creative action. Enhancing adaptive capacity and closing the implementation gap, requires robust evidence, informed by scientific research, Indigenous Knowledges and Local Knowledges, professional practice and attention to enabling conditions including finance and knowledge exchange. 

Conference Objectives

AF2025 aims to provide an innovative forum for debate and discovery about advances in adaptation in the context of wider development goals. AF2025 highlights Indigenous knowledge and local solutions, the means of implementation, systemic approaches, adaptation gaps, and climate resilient development pathways for advancing adaptation. 

AF2025 seeks to attract more Indigenous and Pacific scholars than ever before alongside increased numbers of delegates from the wider Global South.

To meet these objectives AF2025 offers innovative, inclusive and interactive discussion formats, face to face and online. Alongside welcoming traditional papers/panels and posters that aim to ignite action and share new insights we encourage ‘co-creation’ sessions including workshops/talanoa-wānanga opportunities for rich discussion, feedback and co-creation of new knowledge. AF2025 will intentionally stimulate inclusive, disruptive and challenging conversations to accelerate action on the Global Goal of Adaptation.
 

Conference Themes

1. Indigenous Innovation and Leadership
2. Ocean, Islands, Futures
3. Cities, Settlements and Infrastructure
4. Food, Water and Land Security
5. Health, Wellbeing, and Future Generations
6. The Art of Adaptation, Communication and Education
7. Beyond Adaptation

Cross Cutting Issues

All themes include cross-cutting issues: Enabling conditions; Integrated systems perspectives; Adaptive Capacity; Justice and Equity, Nature Based Solutions, Climate Resilient Development and Finance.

All themes relate to wider efforts toward transforming adaptation including through technology transfer, leadership, and inclusive community engagement; and in all sectors, e.g., water, food, health, energy, the built environment.

Learn more about the Conference Themes here

Proposal Submission

AF2025 values diversity and inclusivity and invites submissions from a large range of contributors including climate change adaptation researchers, practitioners, early career researchers, community representatives, policymakers, and industry representatives as indicated below.

You can choose to submit a traditional “knowledge sharing session” i.e. a poster, paper or panel or a “co-creation” session proposal (see a range of formats itemised below). 

To promote equity and broader participation at AF2025, an individual can only serve as a lead author in one Knowledge Session (e.g.  Poster or Paper or Panel presentation) and one “Co-Creation” Session. 
 

Presentation Types

1. Knowledge Sharing Sessions

Knowledge Sharing Sessions are open to those wishing to present posters, papers, or panel proposals about scientific and practice-based findings, and solutions to relevant climate change.

a) Poster Presentations: Posters combine a visual summary of the findings of a paper/study with the opportunity for individualized and informal discussion of the presenter’s work. 
Submission Requirements: Submissions for poster sessions include an abstract of up to 350 words which includes an introduction, objectives, method, findings, significance of the work for policy and practice, and an indication of your availability to participate online or in-person for a moderated discussion on selected posters. 

All accepted posters will be displayed on boards at the venue. Successful online poster submitters must cover the cost of printing and displaying their posters in Christchurch. This service will be provided by the Conference organisers.  The fee for printing posters for virtual participants is NZ$90 per poster which will need to be paid before your poster can be displayed.  Some authors may be invited to join a moderated online poster session.  Poster presenters who are joining the Conference in-person are also offered the option to pay the fee for the organisers print on site.   

b) Paper Presentations: The proposals for paper presentations are submitted by individuals (with one or more authors). At AF2025, selected paper presentations will be included in thematic sessions by conference organizers which will be either traditional conference panels (with papers of 12 minutes oral presentation) followed by panel discussion or rapid lightning talks (of 6 minutes length) aimed to inspire new research directions or ignite action. 
Submission Requirements: Submissions for all paper presentations must include an abstract of up to 500 words and include an introduction, objectives, method, findings, significance of the work for policy and practice. Please provide the abstract in English and indicate the language for the oral presentation.

c) Panel Proposals: Submissions are also accepted for a cluster of several papers presented as a panel.
Submission Requirements: Each panel proposal must include an abstract of up to 1200 words that outlines an introduction of the objective/ purpose of the panel and contribution to new knowledge or practice AND detail of each individual panelist's contribution, including up to 250 words for each paper outlining the title, aim, method and findings and an author bio sketch. The conference scientific committee reserve the right to add up to 2 related papers accepted from wider submissions to a panel. Panels must include a moderator, and a minimum of three panellists. AF2025 encourages inclusion of different organizations, or ideas, experiences and/or career stages. Panels are 90 minutes in length and each oral presentations is 12 minutes to allow sufficient time for wider discussion.

2. Co-creation Sessions

To promote co-learning and exchanges for actionable solutions, we encourage other innovative submission formats beyond traditional posters, papers or panel presentations. A diverse range of moderated knowledge, “co-creation” sessions are encouraged at AF2025 to ensure intentionally interactive events. The aim of these discussion forums is to elicit feedback from participants, generate new knowledge and identify new directions in research and practice.  

These moderated sessions may include diverse interactive formats such as: 

• Wānanga/Talanoa/Dialogue/Workshop These are inclusive discussion sessions that aim to build relationships, and networks, and encourage in-depth community/researcher or professional reflection to advance new knowledge across communities, regions, stakeholders or sectors including Indigenous Knowledge or Local Knowledge, in ways that accelerate adaptation and include diverse voices and epistemologies. Inspiring examples include Community Kraal at AF2018, Inkundlas at SRI 2022, Agora sessions at Montreal AF2023.
• Creative performances These sessions provide the audience with an opportunity to talk about and reflect on adaptation science using music, theatre, art or design installations.  
• Hand-on activities These are opportunities for interactive discussions while working with materials or technologies to explore aspects of adaptation.
• Knowledge Café These sessions focus on generating collection action by bringing people together to share experiences, learn from each other, and explore new possibilities for ways forward in a moderated series of small group reflections.
• Side Event These sessions provide dedicated spaces and time slots for attendees to network and share knowledge in ways that advance AF2025 aims including: highlighting new professional organisations, research opportunities, or publications. Some inspiring examples: book or journal launches, Professional Association launches/presentations, Edit-a-thons, Provocations for example 2021 Rise Africa. 

Most co-creation sessions lend themselves to in-person participation but some proposals may be selected for broadcast on the AF2025 hybrid platform so submitters are asked to consider how you could incorporate online participation.

Submission Requirements
If you are proposing a co-creation session at least 1 member of the session must be present in person, (as moderator). The sessions are 90 minutes in length. The conference organisers reserve the right to allocate up to two places in the session for accepted participants on related topics who may present their ideas in the format described by session moderators.

Co-creation session abstracts are 1200 words and should include names of nominated participants and their contribution and likely session outcomes, and bio-sketch (150 words for each participant outlining contribution), methods used for cocreation, aims and expected outcomes, significance of the event and rationale for format delivery and methods for hybrid inclusivity.

Please clearly indicate if your Co-creation session is proposed as a:

• Wānanga/Talanoa /Dialogue/ Workshop
• Creative performances
• Hands-on activities
• Knowledge Café
• Side Event

In addition to the presentations above, submitted papers, panels or session proposals maybe invited by the Science Committee to be included in one of the following AF2025 events:

Innovation Days: These premiere AF2025 events will showcase highly innovative, rigorous, and creative approaches to accelerating adaptation with a particular focus in 2025 on Oceania and Indigenous knowledge solutions. Participation in Innovation Days will be by invitation, selected by the Scientific committee from successful submissions, in consultation with the AF2025 Foundation Sponsor.

Masterclasses: Masterclasses are in-depth knowledge transfer events that build participants’ knowledge and skills in a particular topic. These sessions are designed for academics, decision-makers, and/or practitioners. Masterclass participation is by invitation by the scientific committee. 

Living Labs: Day four of the conference will feature field excursions and practice examples of climate adaptation solutions, Indigenous innovations, mal-adaptation challenges, and new artistic or communication methods, community visions and professional/industry practice on site. Invitations to lead or present in AF2025 Living Lab events will be extended by the Science Committee.