About Us.

At Inspiring Stories, we believe in the power of young people to create change.

We’re a Kiwi charity with a bold vision to see young people realise their potential to change the world – creating a more inclusive and sustainable future with every generation.

Our Why.

We live in a world with urgent and complex problems that need solving. More than ever we need hope. More than ever we need leadership. We believe young people have a critical role to play. We’ve seen first hand what young people can achieve – especially when they’re surrounded with a community of support, and have access to meaningful opportunities to develop and realise their potential. As a society we need to invest in their success. Our future depends on it.

Our Values.

Whakawhanaungatanga – with great partnerships and relationships, anything is possible.
Be courageous – dare to dream, to do things differently, and stand up for what’s right.
Lead by example – positive role modelling to influence attitudes and behaviour.
Impact driven – striving to be more effective in everything we do.
Kaitiakitanga – guardianship and stewardship for future generations.

What we do.

Our mission is to supercharge the community of support that backs young people with the connections, capability and resources to lead change. This includes running large-scale events and programmes that inspire young people to re-imagine what’s possible, building knowledge and skills through mentoring and workshops, and supporting young people to develop their ideas to make a difference for our communities, country, and beyond. From building the next generation of impact-driven businesses to solutions for climate and community resilience, to mental health and wellbeing – our alumni are dreaming big, and pushing boundaries.

Our programmes.

Festival for the Future
Festival for the Future has grown to become Aotearoa’s biggest leadership and innovation summit, with an action-packed programme of inspirational speakers, future-focused panels, workshops, and entertainment.

**The Impact Challenge**
The Impact Challenge supports young New Zealanders to take action around a specific theme (i.e. climate & community resilience), and along the way building knowledge and skills through mentoring and support.

**The Impact Awards**
The Impact Awards celebrate and support Aotearoa’s most inspirational young changemakers across six major award categories – climate, enterprise, inclusion, wellbeing, local and global impact.

**Future Leaders**
The Future Leaders programme supports young people in rural and provincial Aotearoa to build their leadership and entrepreneurship skills and develop ideas to make a difference in their communities.

Our social enterprise speaker bureau.

Are your looking for talent to speak at your next business event or conference? We also run New Zealand’s social enterprise speaker bureau – Inspiring Speakers – which provides access to awesome Kiwi talent, and puts any profit back into scholarship opportunities for young people!