IMAGINATION 2017: REINVIGORATING YOUTH LEADERSHIP ACROSS AUSTRALIA  

After opening our national tour of IMAGINATION in November last year we were overjoyed that Australia’s premier youth leadership event felt more dynamic than ever before! The transformation from the long-standing format of The National Young Leaders Day allowed us to connect with our audience, your young leaders, more directly and in a style that was highly engaging and meaningful to them.

For those of you who have been attending our events for many years, there were familiar elements, but also new features that enabled us to make the day more relevant and memorable for all. Schools and students are still talking about what they took away from the day and ways to embed shared leadership visions and values into their schools for the coming terms.

Sam Skinner, Halogen CEO and our Foundational Leadership speaker, highlighted that for years, professionals, teachers and students have been seeking the ideal instruction manual on how to be a good leader. Sam explained that there will never be a single formula that will help everyone achieve his or her leadership goals. Instead Halogen connects our audiences with inspiring leaders, from all walks of life, allowing their stories to trigger in attendees, the motivation to lead themselves and others well. Through the experience of a Halogen IMAGINATION Event, each person in the audience takes something different from every speaker – perhaps a teacher seeing a way to invigorate leadership in the classroom or a student initiating a joint project amongst peers.

We feel privileged to have connected another 20,000 young people with dozens of inspiring role models again over the past 12 months. Now those young leaders can take their leadership journey into their own hands with the knowledge that 21^st Century leadership opportunities truly are bounded only by the limits of our IMAGINATION.

Here’s a recap of the top leadership insights shared by speakers at our IMAGINATION 2017 events:

Nobody knows the answer to everything – it’s all about asking for help – Sam Webb, Co-Founder of LIVIN: a charity smashing the stigma on mental illness.

Fight the voice that tells you, you can’t do something – Dr Jordan Nguyen, Biomedical Engineer for Humanity

Nurture others to achieve their best and use your influence for the better – Barry Conrad, The X-Factor Top 12, Singer & Actor

We often feel under pressure to be perfect but it is much better to be brave and try something new, regardless of imperfections – Jade Hameister, Youngest Person to Ski to the North Pole

If you want to help someone, you have to respect them first – Inspector Corey Allen, Manager of Field Training, QLD Police Academy & Former Officer in Charge, Brisbane City

Influence is key – I can influence everyone in this room and I’m just one person. Everyone has that exact same power – Robbie Miller, Musician & Winner of Triple J Unearthed’s National Indigenous Music Award (NIMAs) 2013

Our biggest obstacle is often our own confidence – Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC, Governor of Western Australia

We’ve all got resilience inside of us. It’s just like sport – the more you train and the more you do it, the more resilient you become – Brad Ness, Paralympian and Australian Rollers captain

You get what you give out, so if you want to be respected as a leader, you’ve got to give it first – Tracy Vo, Channel 9 TV Presenter and Journalist

If people could trust one another just a little bit more, maybe we could take a step towards collaborating and finding new answers to our future problems – Peter Sharp, Social Artist breaking down the barriers around comfort zones and human connection

Your perception of something can change the way you think and influence your experience – Matt Cosgrove, Author and Illustrator

To get to the top is really tough but you know you’ve worked hard, you feel good inside, and you can’t rely on anyone else to get you there – Poppy Starr, Girl Skater, Artist and Young Business Owner

Thank you for joining together with us to support the next generation of young leaders. We look forward to sharing IMAGINATION again with you in the coming year and continuing to connect leaders, organisations, educators and young people in the future.

For more information about our events in November 2017 and March 2018 visit www.halogen.org.au/events