Theme: New Realities: Where Are You Now?

Dive deep into your surroundings and become as curious as a cat. Question everything! What’s real? What’s fake?
Everyone has their own version of reality. Everyone has their own beliefs.

This year we’ve decided to focus on a theme that is extremely relevant in today’s day and age. With the massive hit of Covid-19 in 2020, many of us lost sense of who we were. Challenges have come and gone as change has been unpredictable. Everything constantly changes, constantly moves. Nevertheless, the challenges we faced helped take us on new paths where we adapted to every new turn and aimed to overcome every new hurdle along the way.
Alas, it’s never too late to find yourself again. Rather, find the new you. We all have the chance to shape our reality; to become the best versions of ourselves.

So this year, we ask you this: ‘Where are you now?’, ‘Where do you want to be?’, ‘Most importantly, who do you want to be?’.
Join us for our big event on October 16 2021. Find yourself again.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Zoom
Zoom
Mebourne, Victoria, 3000
Australia

Ilianna Ginnis

Interior Architecture, Neurodiverse Designer, Disability Rights Advocate and Non-Verbal Neurological Agency

Ilianna Ginnis is an Interior Architectural Designer and a current PhD Candidate at Monash University. Ilianna is also a caregiver for persons with disabilities as well as an allied health assistant to speech pathologists. Ilianna prides herself on designing with consciousness, creating interventions that extend the ordinary intentions of architecture, multi-disciplinary as well as sensory design for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities, focusing on communication, specifically behavioural and non-verbal, to stimulate design processes. Her aim is to achieve empathy through the exploration of interior architecture with a fundamental focus on intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability. Her PhD speculates on how design processes begin to consider persons with severe and profound intellectual disability and non-verbal communication, allowing designers to integrate users into complex processes as narrators of their own experience.

Jacob Gamble

Facilitator, Youth Programs Coordinator, Student Journalist, Youth Advocate

Jacob is a Monash journalism student, working as a youth programs coordinator and facilitator in entrepreneurial education. They are passionate about community led solutions to big problems, and co-founded a youth environmental advocacy group called Earth Guardians Newcastle. Jacob is a strong advocate for young people, most recently developing a report with UNICEF Australia that documented the concerns of children and young people across the country. They presented the report 'Children's Voices in a Changing World' to federal politicians in July. Currently, they host a breakfast radio show every Monday on 3CR Community Radio discussing alternative news, and recently reported on YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament as a member of the Youth Press Gallery. Jacob's talk is inspired by young people's relationship to social media, the URL vs the IRL.

Jahin Tanvir

Policy Adviser, Author, Speaker, Youth Advocate

Jahin Tanvir is a policy adviser, keynote speaker, author, and multicultural youth advocate. With a penchant for being multifaceted, Jahin possesses a strong background in youth advocacy and healthcare in leading youth-led organizations. He also runs Echo Chamber Escape, a diversity-first publication that promotes inclusion for people from multicultural backgrounds and recognizes their efforts in championing diversity around Australia and the world.In 2021, Jahin received the 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year in Individual Community Service as well as recognition in the 7NEWs Young Achiever awards for NSW/ACT in the category of community service. Jahin also received the Zest Awards Outstanding Youth Leader of the year for 2021 for his work in assisting multicultural communities in Western Sydney. Jahin is also a young media spokesperson trained by the Economic Media Centre, providing expert media comments on multicultural people's experiences in Australian communities.

Jamie Nease

Owner, Photographer at Jamie Nease Portraits

Jamie Nease is an ex-Google engineer turned transformational portrait photographer located in San Diego. She's on a mission to help women let go of the shame inflicted on them in their culture, so they can see their inherent beauty, let go of limiting beliefs, and step into their purpose. She couples her knowledge of photography with her extensive knowledge of healing through self image, and creates a space where women can let go of the mask and see their power, potential, and timeless beauty. Her new RAW project was created from a deep desire for women to be fully expressed and in their power, so that they can step forward and heal the world.