Youthful innovation: Festival for the Future at AUT this weekend
AUT’s Faculty of Business and Law is partnering with the Inspiring Stories Trust to host 400 young Kiwi innovators at the Festival for the Future 2014 this weekend.
The annual festival, which celebrates youth-led Kiwi innovation, will be held in the Sir Paul Reeves Building at AUT’s City Campus.
The Dean of AUT’s Faculty of Business and Law, Professor Geoff Perry says, “As a faculty we have a lot in common with the Festival for The Future - we too want to invest into the vast potential of youth to create a better New Zealand. The 16-30 year-olds who are giving up their weekend to learn about innovation are exactly the sort of people we want to attract to study at our future-focused Schools of Business and Law.”
This year’s festival will showcase twenty one speakers from a vast range of disciplines to connect and share their passion, projects, and vision for New Zealand. The festival programme is packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, workshops and entertainment.
The impressive range of young innovators speaking this year includes 19 year-old hip-hop dancer and dance academy founder Tsar Marsters, 15 year-old Taylor Finderup who led a campaign to ban shark-finning, co-founder of the Student Volunteer Army Jason Pemberton and Yvonne Taufa of ‘The Cinderella Project’, which donates ball dresses to girls from low income backgrounds.
Keynote speakers include CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians Dr Jan Owen and Be Accessible CEO Minnie Baragwanath. Social entrepreneur and recipient of the prestigious ‘Women of Influence’ award, Sir Peter Blake Trust Blake Leader Emeline Afeaki-Mafile’o, will share her ideas on creating cross-sector partnerships for change.
Festival Founder & Director, Guy Ryan says “The festival has grown into a significant national event, and now has support from some of New Zealand’s most influential organisations. The showcase of young New Zealanders who are literally changing the world is incredibly inspiring; it’s the kind of stuff that makes you proud to be a Kiwi.”