From Aotea Great Barrier Island, Aotearoa New Zealand – Welcome to Small Island, Big Ideas, an ongoing festival of conversations and events created to take Aotea, and possibly the world, forward.

Small Island Big Ideas (SIBI) latest project “Outside In” is a podcast series that connects Aotea to other small (in fact, tiny) islands around the world which have undergone some sort of transformation through realising a ‘big idea’.

Thanks to input from many of those in our own community, we have scoured the globe to find other small islands, similar in size to our own, who’ve had a big idea that’s led to some sort of radical reinvention.

We are interested in how other small islands are facing the future. How have they acted on a ‘big idea’ that’s transformed their island community in a positive way? We will be sharing those conversations and learnings on this podcast for the next few months – one small island at a time.

First, we set off for Samsø, Denmark. We met Søren Hermansen, Director of the Energy Academy on the island. Samsø, located in Denmark’s Kattegat Sea, had historically relied on imported fossil fuels for energy. However, in the early 2000s, the island launched an ambitious strategy to achieve complete energy independence and carbon neutrality through renewable energy sources. They met their objectives and became the world’s first energy renewable island, and have been carbon neutral for years! They achieved energy self-sufficiency through community-owned wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass facilities. They export 80,000 megawatt hours of natural energy every year back to the mainland, with the proceeds flowing back into their community. We took a deep dive with Søren, a born and bred local, to learn about the island’s energy ownership journey and community involvement. Today, they have 45 electric car charging stations, as well as a new hybrid community-owned ferry and another fully electric one coming next year! Samsø is a real-life example of how small islands can thrive and become global leaders.

Join us on this fascinating journey of conversations, ideas and inspiration.