We're popping in to say hello and reflect on the 2025 Festival Hub program.

Pavers, bins, and signs stand as reminders of human order, while grass grows in the cracks and the mist flows freely, defying boundaries. Like surfing in the midst of the mist, creative bureaucrats embrace the fluid interplay between governance and community, fostering the conditions and flow for collectively crafting futures with moral imagination

Rodney Barber - Rodney spent the first 10 years of his career in the private sector in Auckland and overseas. He then “saw the light” and was a public servant in Wellington for the next 26 years till 2016. He has retained his passion to serve the public in all he does, both here and overseas. He now describes himself as a social entrepreneur, business owner and public investment expert

Sometimes I find myself dreaming that the public sector is more siloed….(wait, wait hear me out!)

The idea of the reasonable public servant embodies a professional who balances responsiveness with ethical integrity and long-term vision.

To celebrate the launch of the Australia and New Zealand Hub. we’ve invited creative thinkers, including our team, to describe what creative bureaucracy means to them.