Theme: The Campfire

The Campfire is a space for you to feel warm and welcome. You are among friends. Lean back, imagine the smoke rising lazily into the night sky, and allow yourself to be open to the experience.

At this campfire, you’ll hear stories – funny, serious, shocking, moving. Our job is to challenge you, to provoke you, to inspire you – to encourage you to think differently.

But it is also to invite you in. With you, the conversation becomes two-way. With you, ideas have the potential to become action. With you, the campfire becomes a community.

Join us.

The Piano
156 Armagh Street
Christchurch, Canterbury, 8011
New Zealand

Alex Tan

Political scientist

Alex Tan is Head of Department and Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Honorary Professor of the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College, Associate Director of the NZ Contemporary China Research Centre, Senior Fellow of the University of Nottingham China Policy Institute (UK), Fellow of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies (Dallas, USA), and University Chair Professor of Political Science (adjunct) at National Chengchi University (Taiwan). He has published extensively in the areas of political parties and elections, political economy, Asian politics and international affairs.

Anthony and Phil Butler

Physicists

In 2007, Phil and Anthony Butler founded MARS Bioimaging Ltd to commercialise spectral imaging technology. Anthony has more than 150 scientific publications, has won numerous awards, and is the lead investigator or co-investigator on over $40m of NZ government research grants. Phil is Member of CERN and the UC leader for participation in the Medipix3 Collaboration. He is an internationally respected mathematical physicist who has founded two companies and three not-for-profit businesses. He served as Head of the Physics and Astronomy Department for 8 years and was Pro-Vice Chancellor of UC for 3 years.

Christchurch Pops

Choir

The Christchurch Pops Choir was created to bring joy to the people of Christchurch and delights in performing popular music at venues around the city and beyond. The repertoire is chosen from a wide range of genres with vocal styles such as pop, rock, jazz, musical theatre, swing, soul and even some traditional classics creating an exciting mix for performers and audiences alike.

Daisy Lavea-Timo

Slam poet

Daisy Lavea-Timo is a poet, rugby league prop, producer, and the southern regional relationship manager for the Ministry of Youth Development. A black and white Samoan lens converges and in those thousand shades of grey, Daisy explores what it means to be a straddler of worlds: a kiwi-born, fluent-Samoan speaking and traditional tattoo-wielding Matai/Chief. The current New Zealand Slam Poetry Champion, she believes in the power of words and holding the vā/ spaces for people to share their own stories.

Hamish Brewer

School principal

Hamish Brewer is an educational disrupter. He is the 2017 NAESP Nationally Distinguished Principal, and has won both the VAESP School Bell Award, and ASCD Virginia Impact Award. In 2018 Hamish was named a Northern Virginian of the year by Northern Virginia Magazine. Originally from New Zealand, he earned his Bachelors of Education at the University of Auckland and his Masters of Educational Leadership at VCU in Richmond, VA. He also serves at the state level as the Federal Relations Coordinator on the Board of Directors with the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals.

Kathryn Leafe

Director NZ Needle Exchange

Kathryn Leafe is the Executive Director at New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme, on the Board of Directors of the International Drug Policy Consortium and member of the Mental Health and Addiction SLA for the South Island DHB Alliance. She is a member of the Society for the Study of Addiction; Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Kathryn has over 20 years’ experience working in drug and alcohol services at a national (UK and NZ) as well as at an international level including work with UNODC.

Laura O'Connell Rapira

Activist

Laura O'Connell Rapira (Te Ātiawa, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whakaue) is the Director of ActionStation, an independent, crowdfunded community campaigning organisation representing over 180,000 New Zealanders acting together to create what we cannot achieve on our own: a society, economy and democracy that serves everyday people and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother). She is also the Co-Founder of RockEnrol, a volunteer-powered organisation dedicated to activating the political power of young people.

Maggie-Lee Huckabee

Swallowing expert

Prof Maggie-Lee Huckabee, PhD practiced as a clinician for 13 years before the frustration of never knowing ‘the answers’ led her to an academic career. She is now Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders, University of Canterbury and Director of the UC Rose Centre for Stroke Recovery and Research in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her research interests focus on the complexities of behaviorally-driven neural adaptation and biomechanical change leading to swallowing recovery.

The Response

Musical duo

NZ alternative pop duo The Response have shared the stage with international acts like Baio (of Vampire Weekend fame), Deep Sea Diver (Seattle), Big Scary (Australia) and Kate Boy (Sweden). NZ Musician call them "indie pop at its carefully crafted best." Permanent Rain Press say they "offer a sense of cautious hope, one that brings nostalgic touches of loss, belonging and identity." The Revue say they are "the perfect demonstration of how subtlety can yield something infectious." After two years in Canada, The Response returned to New Zealand where they launched their new EP 'Little Worlds' this past June.

William Trubridge

Free diver

William Trubridge is one of the world's premier free divers. In 2005 William was the first freediver to dive at Dean's Blue Hole, now recognised as the world's premier freediving venue and site of the annual Vertical Blue event. There he broke his first world record in the discipline of CNF (Constant Weight No Fins) in April 2007, diving to 81m. Since then he has broken this record multiple times. In 2010 he became the first human to descend to 100m (330 feet) during Project Hector, an event aimed at bringing awareness to the plight of New Zealand's critically endangered Hector's and Maui's Dolphins species. In July 2016 he furthered this record to 102m (334 feet) as part of the Steinlager "Born to Defy" project, which was broadcast live to New Zealand television. William also holds the world record in Free Immersion, with 124m (406 feet), set at Vertical Blue in May 2016.

Zach Preston

Student innovator

Zach is an engineering student at the University of Canterbury and a keen teenage innovator. At the age of 18, he founded Sentinel Water: an eco-tech startup that aims to reimagine how tanked water supplies are managed sustainably and effectively. From pitching technology solutions to Microsoft in Seattle to being awarded Top of New Zealand AL Computer Science, Zach has always been fascinated by how technology can completely change the way people think and live. Having worked across several industries as a freelancer, Zach is deeply passionate about applying imagination and creative problem-solving to Aotearoa’s toughest problems through empathetic design.