First round of speakers announced for Festival for the Future

Inspiring Stories has just announced its first round of national and international speakers participating in this year's Festival for the Future from August 4 to August 6.  Festival for the Future is a three-day event, jam-packed with talks, hands-on workshops, performances, stalls and art installations, all dedicated to inspiring young New Zealanders to make a difference in the world.

The event has grown year on year, with a record attendance in 2016 of 900 young adults, tertiary students and young professionals. The first round of 2017 speakers has just been announced, with the final round scheduled to be announced in June.  Festival for the Future 2017 speakers include Irene Wakefield, founder of Prepair NZ, an educational program for domestic abuse prevention;
 Lisa King, CEO - co-founder of New Zealand's fastest growing social enterprise, Eat My Lunch; Tim Norton, CEO and co-founder of 90 Seconds; and Sian Simpson, global community manager at Kiwi Landing Pad. "Festival for the Future exists for young Kiwis, so it should be designed by them. This year we tried something new," says Inspiring Stories CEO Guy Ryan.

"We invited hundreds of young New Zealanders to have their say on the big issues they think we should explore, the speakers they want to hear from, and the types of activities and workshops they'd love to participate in." "We discovered that the biggest topics that concern New Zealand's youth right now are the future of work and economy, environment, mental health and wellbeing and civic engagement, and we've used this information to help inform our program for 2017," Ryan says. "It's incredible to see such an engaged and passionate audience so early on in the process.

"This year's Festival for the Future will be our biggest to date and we're committed to delivering an experience that will build confidence and imagination," he adds.   Festival for the Future is run by Inspiring Stories, a social enterprise building funding, mentoring and training pathways to help young New Zealanders succeed.

The event will be held from August 4 to 6 at Auckland's Aotea Centre.

Earlybird tickets are on sale now for $99 for students and $149 for non-students.