Media Releases

2018 Speakers

 

Georgina Beyer

The world’s first openly transsexual Member of Parliament and Mayor

Trailblazer, courage, diverse

 A Wellington region where the future will be valued through combined power, dispatching parochialism. 

....................................

Dr Michelle Dickinson

Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Nanogirl Labs, manager of STEM outreach programs across five countries in five different languages

Breaker of stereotypes

When we think of cities, we think about buildings and infrastructure, but the heart of a city it it's people. What if Wellington could create the city with the strongest heart beat, powered not by bureaucrats but by the people who know it best?

....................................

Susan Freeman-Greene

Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand (formerly IPENZ)

Resilient, adaptable and curious

Imagine a world where engineering and the arts are inextricably mingled, unleashing our imaginations and igniting innovation.  What would Wellington look like if we fired up our creative capital with a spectacular mash up of engineering, science and the arts? 

....................................

Eric Janssen 

Editor, The Dominion Post, Stuff, Neighbourly

Skydiver with vertigo

MJGA - Make Journalism Great Again. Why fake news needs to be trumped.

....................................

Nick Morrison

Director and Founder of Go Well Consulting, Co founder of "Bags Not" plastic-free campaign to solve plastic pollution in NZ

Passionate, curious, kind

Imagine a city with no waste and perfectly clean streets. Imagine a city that feeds itself on an abundance of cheap organic produce, grown in the city. And imagine a city with healthy, connected, communities free of diet-related illnesses living in harmony with the natural world.

....................................

Nick Kapica

Design Lead at Wellington City Council, Co-chair of the The Wellington Chapter of Society of Experiential Graphic Designers (SEGD), Founder of the Off Grid conference

Urbanist, designer, kitesurfer

Pathways through the impossible with design thinking: How do we think big and dream up ideas for a better future city? How do we identify and navigate the hurdles to shift impossible dreams into feasible ideas?

....................................

Benjamin Johnston

Co-Founder of The Free Store: a Wellington non-profit that annually redistributes $3.5m worth of quality surplus food from inner-city eateries to people in need from all walks of life.

Includer, connecter, learner

I dream of a truly inclusive city where our dinner tables and lives are shared with those who are vastly different to us. Where those on the margins of our communities are not problems to solve, but friends to know.

....................................

Melissa Clark Reynolds  

Futurist and Professional Director 

Funny, curious, busy

Last year Melissa pitched the idea of Wellington becoming a Child friendly City - somewhere where there wild places to roam and play; bike lanes; and every kid could walk to the dairy and back for an ice cream without an adult in complete safety.  Rotary and WCC took up the challenge and Melissa is back with an update.

....................................

Kim Workman

Justice Reformer. Head of the Prison Service from 1989 – 1993. Research Fellow at the Institute of Criminology. Member of the Police Expert Advisory Panel, to oversee the Iwi Justice Panel process

Justice reform advocate

Imagine a city that not only knows how to say sorry, it knows what to say (or do) after that.

....................................

Fraser Callaway

Managing Partner at Strategy Creative and Co-Founder of Refold

Ambitious, perceptive, entrepreneurial 

Design has the power to positively change Wellington, and the world. Let’s unleash it together.  

....................................

Peter McKenzie

Law, Politics and Mandarin student at Victoria University

Curious, confident, creative

Wellington is beautiful, exciting and full of interesting places - but what makes it our home are the people. Yet too often we feel unable to connect with people outside our close groups and silos. We need to build a Wellington where we can connect with everyone.

....................................

Jaye Glam Morgan 

Stylist and fashionista

I am glam 

I will be bringing back fashion to the capital because that’s where it belongs.

....................................

Hon Grant Robertson

MP for Wellington Central

Social justice builder

A city that is the opposite of loneliness, where we are connected to each other, our environment, and our future.