15 March - PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS NOW BEEN CANCELLED. FULL REFUNDS WILL BE PROVIDED AUTOMATICALLY BY HUMANITIX IN THE COMING WEEK.

Ako Space has carefully selected a dynamic mix of inspiring leaders to discuss how they have worked to unleash their ‘genius’, and what we can all do as a global community to help our young people unleash their own genius and develop a life-long love of learning.

A common thread among the most successful innovators and change makers is the need to embrace life-long learning. People from all sectors- politicians, employers, futurists, economists, and policy-makers- agree if we are to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing workplace and society, we must recognise that knowledge, creativity and critical thinking skills are the new currency. Our current Government has engaged the NZ Productivity Commission to undertake a series of unprecedented reviews of the Education System and Vocational Training, with a study on technological change and the future of work. Have they got it right? Are our schools and further education institutions instilling a genuine love of learning in their students? And what about our employers?

Our panelists will draw on their personal and professional experiences to share what ‘life-long’ learning means to them; why it is important; how it is related to finding your passions; and what can we do for ourselves, our children, our students and our employees to nurture and support it.

Our panelists include:

Nathan Wallis - Neuroscience educator and speaker

Justine Munro - Co-Founder and Director of the 21C Skills Lab™

Shay Wright - Māori social entrepreneur and futurist

Fatumata Bah - Women's Rights and Diversity Activist and former refugee

MC:

Claire Amos, Principal of Albany Senior High School, Founder of DisruptEd Facebook Group, Board Member of Netsafe NZ, 21C Skills Lab and the Teaching Council of NZ.

As Alvin Toffler put it:“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Everyone welcome! We are expecting teachers, parents, employers and anyone with even a small interest in the future of education and work to be inspired and motivated by our extraordinary panel.

As a fundraiser, all proceeds will go towards the Ako School Scholarship Fund. For more information on Ako, please visit our website. Thank you for your support!

Check out the different ticket options:

FREE for young people 25 years and under but ticket still required

Early Bird $37 - limited to 100, be quick!

Standard $44

Premium $89 - includes a kick-ass hospitality package and networking with speakers. Numbers are limited.

Take the Team - 4 for $160 - 4 Standard tickets

And for orders of 4 or more Standard tickets, a 10% discount will automatically be applied.

All prices include GST. Booking fees are additional and go to support our chosen charity, Nutrition For Kiwi School Kids, as per the awesome Humanitix model.

The boring stuff:

Doors open 6.30pm for a 7.15pm start

Parking is limited so please carpool or use public transport/taxi. Please follow directions of parking wardens

Refreshments will be available for sale (cash only)

Speaker and MC Bios:

Nathan Wallis:

Nathan is a father of three, stepfather to two and foster father to many more. His professional background includes early childhood teacher, child therapist, social service manager, university lecturer and neuroscience trainer. Following his time at the University of Canterbury, he founded a private training consultancy with the goal of facilitating easy to understand professional development reflecting the latest neuroscience discoveries and their practical implications for everyday practice. Nathan is is an advisor for the NZ Ministry of Education, and an expert advisor for NZ Ministry of Vulnerable Children. Since then he has been in hot demand, delivering in excess of 150 presentations every year throughout Australia, New Zealand, China, Saudi Arabia and the UK. His increasing media profile includes –National Radio and TV appearances as a guest expert on parenting, teaching and the understanding the developing brain of young people. He has filmed a Neuroscience documentary screened in 2017 and produced two DVDs exploring how the brain works and how neuroscience can better inform our day to day interactions with Brain Development for Babies and The Teenage Brain. Inspirational and charismatic, Nathan’s keen ability to translate neuroscience into every day life and practice engages all audiences.

Justine Munro:

Justine is the Co-Founder and Director of the 21C Skills Lab™.
She was previously the Director of the Champions for Change, a group of 50 NZ CEOs and Chairs committed to advancing diversity and inclusion, and Executive Director of Education at Social Ventures Australia. Justine has led or helped establish a number of organisations including the Springboard Trust, Starpath, NZ Centre for Social Innovation, Global Women, DiverseNZ, the Champions for Change, TupuToa, and the Well Foundation. She has sat on or chaired a number of boards including NZQA, Z Energy, Simplicity Charitable Trust, TupuToa, Teach First NZ, the Akina Foundation and the Well Foundation. She is a former McKinsey & Company consultant, lawyer specialising in indigenous issues and Rhodes Scholar.

Shay Wright:

Shay is working to empower the next generation of Maori entrepreneurs and leaders through the organisation he co-founded, Te Whare Hukahuka. From the Far North iwi of Te Rarawa, Shay has been a champion for indigenous empowerment and leadership his whole life. He is particularly passionate about purpose-driven business and social enterprise. Shay worked in the Māori business development at The Icehouse, where he learnt a lot about start-ups, market validation and business models. In 2016, Shay was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia-Pacific for his efforts, and in 2019, was named an Obama Fellow.

Fatumata Bah:

Originally from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, her family fled to New Zealand from the Sierra Leone civil war, and she was a toddler when her parents arrived here as refugees. Fatumata was born with sickle-cell anaemia, a severe hereditary form of anaemia in which a mutated form of haemoglobin distorts the red blood cells into a crescent shape at low oxygen levels. She strives to make every day count, and is passionate about supporting migrants and refugee youth to fully participate in society – at the local and national level, as well being engaged in global issues.

Claire Amos:

Claire is Principal at Albany Senior High School. She is also co-founder of DisruptED and also sits on the board of NetSafeNZ and 21C Skills Lab. Claire also enjoys contributing to a wide range of advisory boards and reference groups. Claire was also a founding council member for the Education Council, Aotearoa, NZ. Claire was a foundation Deputy Principal at Hobsonville Point Secondary School. From 2011-2012 Claire was the Director of e-learning at Epsom Girls Grammar School. She has lead and taught English in a variety of roles. She has worked at a national level in assessment and curriculum in English. In 2009 Claire was a Ministry of Education e-fellow for which she undertook a study of how ICTs can be used to support literacy in and beyond the English classroom. Claire is passionate about her family, education, fashion and tattoos, living by the mantra - “you can never be overdressed or overeducated”.