Theme: On Our Doorstep...

Get ready to be inspired and challenged by local and national people changing the world with their unique ideas. And, in the breaks get chatting to the incredible attendees around you!

Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu
Montreal Street
Christchurch, Canterbury, 8013
New Zealand

Deborah Lambie

Deborah Lambie grew up embracing the opportunities that came her way. She is a qualified medical doctor, former Miss New Zealand, and now an investment banker. However, she noticed that many young people did not have the same opportunities she did. So, in 2012, she co-founded LearnCoach with her now-husband Dave Cameron. LearnCoach is an accredited online school, where every student can learn, sit real exams and gain real qualifications. LearnCoach grew from helping 150 students in 2012 to over 150,000 students in 2017. This ‘Second-Chance-School’ is a way to give thousands of students opportunities in life, by giving them a second chance at school.

E Wen Wong

E Wen Wong is a passionate environmental advocate, innovator, and founder of plastic pollution organisation, P.S. Our Beaches. E Wen was a recipient of one of this year’s New Zealand Youth Awards for her commitment to the environment and, in the past two years, has initiated litter audits, awareness posts on sustainability initiatives and interviews with the Department of Conservation and UNESCO to raise the profile of the beach pollution issue. The Burnside High School student is also a UN Youth High School Ambassador and volunteer with 350 Aotearoa.

Graci Kim Cribbens

Graci Kim Cribbens is a New Zealand diplomat, writer, and social entrepreneur. Her career in the Foreign Service has taken her from negotiating wine trade agreements in South America, to walking down the red carpet in Beijing, to representing New Zealand at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. Following stints in Taiwan and China, she is currently based back in Aotearoa with her husband and imaginary dog. When she’s not being a cheerleader for New Zealand, Graci writes Young Adult novels about magic and family under the name Graci Kim. Graci has also founded three start-ups in the creative tech space, including being the producer and host of online cooking show “Graci in the Kitchen”, which was broadcast on the Food Channel and the Tastemade Network, reaching almost a million viewers within its first year. A proud Kowi (Korean-Kiwi) raised in West Auckland, Graci is passionate about #ownvoices storytelling, youth empowerment, lifelong learning, and hacking the way to living our best lives.

Isla Martin

Isla Martin is a musician and writer from Christchurch.

Jacob Anderson

Jacob Anderson is the Environmental Programme Manager for the Sir Peter Blake Trust and a PhD student at the University of Otago. He is a Sir Robin Irvine Scholar and has participated in five scientific expeditions to Antarctica studying past Antarctic climate and ice sheet behaviour. At the Sir Peter Blake Trust, he manages environmental education programmes and has participated in Young Blake Expeditions to the Kermadec Islands and the Sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, where he led the science communication and outreach on board.

Jaye Pukepuke

Previously a member of the Warriors, New Zealand Māori, and New Zealand rugby league teams, Jaye Pukepuke is now the founder and director of the successful alternative education programme 'Bros for Change'. With his experiences working with young people Jaye has successfully developed a programme for helping young people labelled as problematic and dysfunctional to learn valuable skills and set realistic goals for the future.

Kotte Aguilar

Kotte Aguilar founded Yoga By Kotte after seeing an opportunity to decommercialize the yoga industry. Kotte works with multiple organisations within Christchurch, nationally, and globally and was the first yoga teacher to win an award in the Exercise Industry awards. Earlier in the year she attended the Accessible Yoga conference in Canada, learning new ways to support communities that, in her eyes, need yoga but may not have access. Kotte recently taught yoga to more than 1400 delegates from 85 countries at the Social Enterprise World Forum 2018 in Scotland. Apart from teaching yoga, meditation and mindfulness, Kotte is a public speaker, mentor and coach to many.

Nico Porteous

Nico Porteous is a 16 year old Freeskier who entered the Olympic Men's Ski Halfpipe final and came home to NZ with a bronze medal around his neck - making him NZ's youngest ever Olympic Medalist. Nico grew up in Christchurch but moved to Perth WA shortly after the Christchurch Earthquake. He returns every winter to pursue his passion for the snow. He now spends his year going from winter to winter working to be the best skier he can be.

Rosa Flanagan

Rosa Flanagan is a middle distance runner, specialising in 3000m Steeplechase + 5000m. She has represented Canterbury and New Zealand numerous times over her running career, such as her impressive 5th in 3000m Steeplechase at World University Games, 2015, South Korea. As she became more focused and driven by her successes, she became obsessed with her weight and how much exercise she was doing.

Shanna Moe

Shanna Moe is 11 years old and loves to read Harry Potter and think about what the future will be like. She was born in London and lived in Tokyo and Sydney before moving to New Zealand 3 years ago.

Sigred Yamit

Sigred Yamit is a Filipino-Kiwi writer who believes that poetry can move people and broaden minds. She writes about the immigrant experience and the beautiful complexity of identity. Sigred hopes that her writing can contribute to the ever diverse narrative and stories of people living in New Zealand. Her poems have appeared in Poetry New Zealand, Starling, Printable Reality, and other publications.