As cities everywhere search for healthier economic pathways, Nanaimo opened its doors to a week of ideas, creativity and collective imagination. Donut Days marked Nanaimo’s first community celebration of Doughnut Economics, a global framework for building a thriving economy that balances human wellbeing with planetary boundaries. Over four days, residents, students and leaders from business and non-profit sectors came together to explore what a prosperous 21st-century economy could look like in Nanaimo. Held from October 14 to 17, the week offered hands-on workshops, creative systems thinking sessions and candid conversations about the challenges and opportunities ahead. It also gave the community a chance to connect local action with an international movement that is reshaping how cities plan for the future. This was not only a look at what is possible but an invitation to help shape what comes next.
Policy as the Backbone
At the core of Nanaimo’s Doughnut Economics journey is the City Plan, Nanaimo Reimagined, supported by the Integrated Action Plan and an award-winning Monitoring Strategy. Together, these documents guide decisions on the city’s future and address social and environmental issues. Adopted by the City Council in 2020, making Nanaimo the first municipality in North America to take this step, the framework tracks the city’s progress to ensure a balance between people, planet, and profit.
Moving the Conversation into Community Spaces
Donut Days created an opportunity to take Doughnut Economics beyond City Hall and into the wider community, linking local action to a global conversation. Throughout the week, NPC hosted four events, three of them facilitated by Future Fit City, designed to engage different groups to imagine what a prosperous, thriving Nanaimo could look like.
“Participating in the Donut Days events was an exciting invitation to engage in meaningful conversations about moving as a system with colleagues from the community impact (nonprofit) sector and beyond. I appreciated the creativity and purpose behind these events. They encouraged me to explore bigger questions about systems and reflect on how we’re meeting the moment, individually and collectively.”
— Kix Citton, Community Impact Committee
Systems Thinking at the Gallery
The week kicked off with ‘The Art of Systems’ event, co-hosted with Nanaimo Art Gallery. Business and community leaders gathered to explore how moving as a system, rather than working in silos, can unlock collective potential. The evening flowed with hands-on exercises, lively discussions, and invited participants to connect, experiment, and discover new ways of thinking together.
“Donut days were a timely reminder for all of us to think globally, act locally and internalize the reality that we are all interconnected like the human body, and every aspect must be healthy for us to keep moving and prospering. And we had fun in the process.”
— Mayor Leonard Krog, City of Nanaimo
Mapping Change Across Three Horizons
Workshops for the business and non-profit sectors followed, using the Three Horizons approach to guide exploration. This method helps participants think through short, medium and long-term lenses by categorizing initiatives into three “horizons.”
Horizon 1 represents the present, dominant system, something well-established but eventually facing decline. Horizon 2 is the transition space, where emerging innovations can either extend Horizon 1 or pave the way toward “Horizon 3”. Horizon 3 represents the desired future state. By mapping ideas and initiatives across these horizons, participants were able to explore dominant patterns they see in their personal or professional lives and how to build on strengths, let certain practices go, clarify priorities, uncover opportunities, and anticipate potential disruptions.
“The Three Horizons workshop offered during Doughnut Days Nanaimo was an incredibly valuable exercise. It stirred imagination and surfaced a glimpse of what’s possible in terms of ensuring our systems and structures meet everyone’s needs—without pushing unhealthily and unsustainably against the limits of living systems. This is important work that needs to continue in a way that engages and involves community members in meaningful ways.”
— Kevin Lindsay, Nanaimo Climate Action Hub
Rethinking the Purpose of Economies
Donut Days finished with a screening of PURPOSE: A Wellbeing Economies Film, presented in partnership with VIU’s MBA Student Association and the MCP Student Association. The film asked one of the most urgent questions of our time: What is the purpose of our economies, and how can we change it? It explores how economic systems can be redesigned to serve people and the planet, inspiring bold experiments in policy, including the global Wellbeing Economy Governments Alliance.
A panel discussion followed, inviting reflections on how these ideas resonate locally. Councillor Ben Geselbracht, one of the key advocates for the city’s adoption of Doughnut Economics, joined VIU students and alumni on a panel on how these principles can shape the city’s future.
Building on Momentum
As the week wrapped up, what lingered was a sense of possibility. Donut Days brought people from across Nanaimo into the same room, working toward a future that feels both ambitious and grounded in local strengths. The ideas shared, the questions raised, and the connections made are now set to ripple through Nanaimo, shaping a city where people, planet, and profit are balanced.
