Currents of Change: New Horizons in Systemic Risk (7-9 June 2025)
Critical systemic risks—from geopolitical tensions and humanitarian crises to unregulated technology and climate breakdown—are growing more severe, abrupt, and complex, their cascading impacts already reverberating through both natural and human systems. Our institutions and frameworks are straining to address these interlinked risks, revealing a growing misalignment between existing capabilities and current realities, from the local to the global. Yet, it is here that we also find the currents of possibility.
It is in this context that ASRA (the Accelerator for Systemic Risk Assessment) hosts Currents of Change: New Horizons in Systemic Risk—the first transdisciplinary, global symposium dedicated to action on systemic risk. This invitation-only symposium brings together over 250 world-leading experts from diverse sectors to explore the interconnections driving our polycrisis, what’s working and not working in risk assessment and response, and pathways toward more resilient futures for all living beings. The program integrates inspiring speakers and conversations with hands-on working sessions, and space to discover new possibilities at the intersection of crisis and opportunity.
In the lead up to UNFCCC COP30 and the second World Summit on Social Development to be held in 2025, and delivered directly after UNDRR’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025), the event creates a unique space for leaders and practitioners to advance systemic approaches to global risks. Our aims are to:
- Advance understanding of systemic risk and cascading effects, bridging gaps between theory and practice
- Showcase innovative frameworks and methodologies for assessing and managing complex risk, providing hands-on experience with emerging tools
- Identify actionable pathways for transformative action across scales, exploring real-world examples from diverse contexts
- Foster cross-sector collaboration and knowledge exchange, bridging sector and discipline siloes and nurturing lasting relationships.
ASRA aims to mainstream systemic risk assessment and response with action galvanized toward the vision of "honest hope"—an unflinching acknowledgment of the realities of the challenges we face paired with a resolute commitment to catalyzing bold and transformative action so that all people, societies, species, and ecosystems thrive.
This event is by invitation-only.
To find out more, contact Kasia Murphy, Director of Communications, ASRA: kmurphy@asranetwork.org