The Make/shift Summit

Where the builders get together to start bringing better futures to life.

Two weeks of imagination, provocation, and inspiration - all leading up to this. The Make/shift Summit a one-day gathering for people who are ready to do something about the future, not just talk about it.

Hear from people challenging the status quo, step into possible futures, test ideas with other people, and leave with practical tools, new connections, and a clearer sense of what you can do next.

Katherine Trebeck · Jon Alexander* · Indy Johar* · Erinch Sahan* · Michael Woodley* · Max Barton

Fri 18 Sept

9am to 4:30pm

Freo Town Hall

Keynotes · Immersive experiences · Workshops · Strategy · Connection

Get your Summit ticket

*Hear exclusive messages from these speakers, recorded just for Make/shift.

This isn’t a conference.

At least, not the kind you’re thinking of. You'll hear from some brilliant thinkers, but you won't spend the day sitting back and taking notes.

You'll play. You'll debate. You'll experiment. You'll make decisions. You'll imagine yourself into possible futures - and work out what you'd actually do there.

Choose the experience that grabs you, then come back together to turn what you've learned into strategy and action.

The Summit Program

Session 1: Opening and provocation

9:00am | We’ll receive a Welcome to Country and settle into the space, offering us a chance to ground ourselves before a day of exploring big ideas and even bigger questions.
9:10am | The Good Together team set the scene on the festival’s core themes.
9:20am | In conversation with Wellbeing Economy advocate Katherine Trebeck about the futures on offer, where they fall short, and what we could aim for instead.
9:50am | Senior Yindjibarndi leader Michael Woodley shares why caring for Country, reciprocity, and generational stewardship have to sit at the heart of better futures, in an exclusive recorded message just for Make/shift.

Session 2: Rehearsing plural futures

Choose one breakout session to join.

10:30am | Hear an exclusive recorded message from Jon Alexander on subject, consumer, and citizen futures, then take your place in the assembly in a participatory democracy activity set in a resource-limited future WA.
10:30am | Hear an exclusive recorded message from Indy Johar on taking adaptation seriously, then step into an interactive future scenario where you’ll negotiate how to care for each other in a climate-struck community.
10:30am | Katherine Trebeck will outline the urgency and risks of transition, then you’ll be the first in Australia to play ‘Dawn’, a brand-new game where you play out a green transition on a tabletop together.
10:30am | Hear an exclusive recorded message from Erinch Sahan and an in-depth conversation with Doing Co, Impact Seed, and Saul Cresswell on putting money to work for better futures, then get hands-on practice unlocking wealth and wellbeing in your local place.
With by the folks at Make-Shift Evenings, get into your body and watch how embodiment can be part of the cognitive. Let all the discussions of the Summit and the whole festival settle and manifest through your body and the collective.
Expect a gentle warm up, cultivating deep listening, and sharpening the skills of witnessing, being witnessed, and going before you're ready.

Session 3: Inspiration and strategy

1:30pm | Sharing exclusive video messages recorded for Make/shift by our partners and friends across the country and the globe, to inspire our future-making work.
1:45pm | We’ve raised some big questions about what’s next, but now let’s tie it back to strategy - how do we leverage power and possibility to make better futures?

Session 4: Reflection & closing

3:30pm | Our dedicated listeners will play back key themes and their critical reflections.
3:50pm | The Good Together team will share a final message as the Summit and the festival come to an end.
4:00pm | Locally based and globally loved artist and performer Max Barton will put on a special show to close out Make/shift.

Secure your ticket

Frank conversations with experts.

Under the hood of a shiny keynote presentation, what do they really think about the futures we’re headed towards, and what we can do about it?

Rehearsing possible futures.

In a hands-on workshop setting, get to grips with simple frameworks that can help us make sense of the mess we’re in, and hash out the details of how we can leverage power and possibility to make better futures.

In a unique set of immersive experiences, step into rich future worlds when you’ll need to work with the people around you to respond to calamity, protect what you treasure, and find joy even in challenging times.

Getting serious about strategy.

As we close the Summit and the whole festival, set aside your comfortable expertise and travel to a future you really long for, to get a sneak preview of how we could build it - starting right now.

Unlocking your imagination.

The shifts we’re making

The Make/shift Summit is designed to help you make some big shifts in how you feel about the future, and how you see your role in making it.

Clarity might be too much to promise in fast-moving and confusing times, and we won’t ever have a full, clear picture of the challenges and what needs to be done. But we want to move you towards resolve: just enough clarity to take action together.
It’s beyond time to let go of the naive hope that we can keep everything running as it is now - but the doom spiral doesn’t help either. We’re looking for a grittier hope, grounded in our belief that more just, sustainable, joyful futures are possible even in challenging times.
We quite literally can’t do any of this alone. You’ll leave the Summit with new connections not just to specific people you can pick up the phone to or collaborate with, but also to a shared identity: you’re one of the future-makers now.
All these big ideas are no good to anyone if they remain just ideas. The Summit will help you to take your future-making practice to the next level in your own contexts and communities, giving you a real sense of the work to be done next and your place in it.

Who’s this Summit for?

The Make/shift Summit is for anyone who’s looking around right now and thinking: “Surely we can do better than this.”

You might work in climate, community, government, business, the arts, education, or social change. You might be trying to change an organisation, build something new, organise your community, make better policy - or just figure out what the hell you're supposed to do in a world that's changing this fast.

You don't need to be an expert. You don't need a job title that says “changemaker”. You just need to care about what happens next.

Join the Summit

Join us at the Walyalup Fremantle Town Hall

8 William St, Fremantle WA 6160

A grand historic space in the very heart of Walyalup, a short walk from the Fremantle train station. Parking is available nearby, though public transport is recommended.

The venue offers step-free access and accessible toilets. If you have specific access needs, we're happy to help.