In the last weekend of July, six young people from Challenge attended Festival for the Future. Festival for the Future is a conference held every year which gathers young people from all around New Zealand for a weekend exploring what the future will look like, the issues which may arise and ways of combatting these issues. The festival was based on the waterfront, and each day started with a panel of speakers at TSB arena. This was followed by workshops and panels delivered by leaders from within New Zealand, and were held at different locations on the waterfront such as Macs Brewbar and the Wharewaka. A wide range of topics were covered during the weekend including housing accessibility, child poverty, mental health and environmental sustainability. The panels offered a chance for listeners to gain deeper insight into these issues including their causes and implications. The workshops were more interactive, and allowed attendees to develop skills to help them in their attempts to tackle the problems facing the future. Overall the festival was a fantastic experience and everyone came away inspired. We would especially like to thank Oranga Tamariki for their huge support over the weekend. –

– Gabrielle Lawson