What is Waves?
WAVES is a 2.5-day gathering of first movers beyond political and sectoral divides. We gather from all over the world to wrestle with the complexities of shifting societal systems through shared inquiry and practical action.
Location: Hanasaari, Helsinki, Finland
Dates: September 11-13, 2025
The ground is shifting
We are living through a civilization scale transition. The systems we rely on are failing. The future is being shaped right now—not by legacy institutions, but by those willing to move differently.
Our current responses accelerate us towards either ecological collapse or a techno-fascist dystopia.
At WAVES, we ask: Is there another way?
Waves 25 Program
Day 1 | Thursday, September 11th
Unlearning — A day to engage with the most consequential questions, challenge assumptions, and expand our capacity to deal with complexity.
Day 2 | Friday, September 12 th
Working Together — Spaces to explore new ways of collaborating and shifting systems—empowering and resourcing emerging possibilities.
Day 3 | Saturday, September 13th
Finding New Ways — Integrating all the new learnings and meanings and converging towards new responses and explorations.
Confirmed speakers
Vanessa Andreotti (CAN/BRA)
Cultural theorist, educator, and social activist reimagining relational ways of learning and at the edges of modernity.
Nora Bateson (US/SWE)
A transcontextual thinker and creator of Warm Data Labs, inviting us to sense the complexity of life through questions that are alive.
Dave Snowden (UK)
Creator of the Cynefin Framework, Sensemaker, and Estuarine Mapping. A leading voice in applied complexity science, inviting us to navigate uncertainty without defaulting to false simplifications.
Samantha Sweetwater (US)
Gaian futurist, thought leader, educator, and leadership coach.
Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective
An art and research collective experimenting with art, pedagogy, and relational practices to hospice what needs to die in the old system and imagine decolonial futures. They will facilitate collective transformation processes at WAVES 25.
…and more, soon to be revealed.
Tickets
Who is Waves for?
WAVES is for those working on systems change at different depths and levels of experience.
Waders – New to systems-shifting work
We are committed to mission-driven work and deeply concerned about the shifts we feel around us. We sense that the old ways no longer hold, but stepping into the new feels uncertain. The currents are strong, and we’re learning how to move with them. We seek clarity, traction, and companions for the journey.
Wave Finders – Some years of experience navigating systems change
We are actively engaged in shifting societal systems, caught in the push and pull of change. We respond in real-time while navigating institutional inertia, conflicting currents, and the habits that pull us back. We are not in control, nor are we fully letting go—we are learning to move with the forces at play without being swept away.
Deep Divers – Long experience with transformative work
We have built projects, led initiatives, and shaped efforts for deep change. Yet, the deeper we go, the more we encounter limits—personal, structural, systemic. We long for fluid collaboration, greater interconnection, and ways to surface without losing depth. We are searching for what sustains, what regenerates, and what we must release.
Main organizer
