The 2024 Canteen Youth Leadership Festival, themed "Exploring Depths, Reaching Heights," gathered over 70 young leaders from across Australia and Aotearoa for a weekend of connection, growth, and empowerment at the Mercure Hotel in Sydney. From August 15-18, our leaders explored and expanded on their skills across a series of inspiring keynotes, dynamic workshops, and networking opportunities designed to equip them with skills both within and beyond Canteen.
The festival kicked off with a warm Welcome to Country from Uncle Matthew Doyle and opening Karakia from one of our Aotearoa rangatahi, followed by a welcome session and an engaging keynote from Magic Mike (Not A Stripper), who captivated the audience with his unique blend of magic, mental health and motivation. Throughout the weekend, attendees participated in hands-on workshops on topics ranging from group facilitation to resilience, led by industry experts like Mark Collard and the Enright duo.
Leaders heard from Abhishek Malik on Saturday. Abhi is a former Canteen leader and tongue cancer survivor, who recently completed the gruelling Marathon Des Sables in Morocco. He spoke about his journey and reaching his goals against all odds, and left our leaders inspired after discussing the cost of inactivity, before welcoming Hunter of the Mental Fitness Collective who found community through exercise.
The event also featured the "Pitch Your Project" presentations, where local leadership groups showcased their innovative ideas, fostering a spirit of collaboration and creativity. The weekend concluded with the Annual General Meeting, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Canteen's operations and building anticipation for great things ahead.
This year's festival strengthened bonds among Canteen’s youth leaders and empowered them to explore new depths and reach new heights in their leadership journeys, both within the organisation and in their own communities.
Beneath the surface of personal development opportunities, leaders most of all embraced connection - making new friends, and reconnecting with old ones – including at a formal dinner, where Josh’s live band set the dance floor on fire, and a fun-casual PJ pizza party.
Thank you to our partner Lagardere for making this event possible and for generously gifting our leaders a voucher in their goodie bags.
