We live in a world with urgent and complex challenges that need solving. When people from diverse backgrounds and industries come together to explore the issues and share ideas, remarkable things can happen.
The Festival is an action-packed weekend of inspiring speakers, future-focused panels, workshops, entertainment and more. It’s been called NZ’s most inspiring event and attracted more than 1,300 delegates in 2017.
I attended the 2018 3 day festival as a contingent of the Palmerston North Youth Council, a group that makes local change within the Palmerston North Region. From Festival in 2018 I developed personal professional skills in teamwork, resilience, communication and went of a voyage of self-discovery! I met people from highly academic backgrounds as well as workers and interns from Microsoft, Azure, Deloitte and the Akina foundation among hundreds of other businesses and organisations. I attended speaker sessions on relevant issues in our local global community, as well as possible solutions and inspiration on the importance of soft-skills in finding and pathing the future world. I even attended workshops on:
- Social Enterprise (Socially purpose driven, economically self-sustainable organisations)
- Social Procurement (The value that positive social change adds to products)
- Local Government change and pitching.
- Business member Chemistry and developing professional and personal relationships in the workplace.
Overall, this opportunity provided me with the groundwork and inspiration to make local, national and international positive change in the things that I feel strongly about. The festival told me that I should sail and find my fish, never get complacent and strive for success – lest I change the world in the process. Be passionate. Aroha. He Waka Eke Noa.
