This October the City of Sydney will welcome thousands of creatives who will be descending onto Sydney's Darling Harbour for the annual Austin Texas festival South by SouthWest (SXSW). This year is an exciting time in the history of the festival because after 36 years of only ever being held in Texas, SXSW is coming to Sydney. This will be the first time the festival has ever left the United States. The annual event is an opportunity for creatives to develop their careers by bringing together people from all around the globe to meet, learn and share ideas.
The annual event features sessions on music, and comedy showcases, film and television screenings, exhibitions, professional development, and a variety of networking opportunities. Influential people who have presented in the past at SXSW festivals include the likes of Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Taika Waititi, Steven Spielberg, Prince and Snoop Dogg.
SXSW was founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas by Austin Chronicle band members Nick Barbaro, Louis Black and Roland Swenson, and Louis Meyers, a band manager and musician who wanted to promote the Austin music scene. In its first year the festival had only 700 registrants and approximately 200 bands performed at the fifteen venues around Austin at the time. Since its inception in 1987 the festival has grown to be one the world’s largest and most influential conferences attracting some of the biggest names in these industries and attendees from around the globe.
This year, Woven Threads is proud to be hosting our own panel - Voice of Change for the Next Generation on the 22nd October 3pm at the ICC. Our director and co-founder Michi Marosszeky will be leading an engaging discussion joined by three panelists:
Ronni Kahn AO — is the founder of the food rescue charity OzHarvest and is a passionate advocate and activist, renowned for disrupting the food waste landscape in Australia.
Thomas Mayo — is a Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country in Darwin and one of the first ever Torres Strait Islander authors to have a book published for the general trade and is a tireless campaigner for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Christian Wilkins — is the son of one Australia’s most recognised entertainment identities and is one of the most accomplished and entertaining MC’s in Australia and a powerful voice for the LGBTQIA + community.
The panelists will discuss how can the influential voices of today effectively create impact and drive change in the world for tomorrow considering that Gen Z is the largest generation to have ever existed, comprising almost 30% of the world’s population, which means they’re big enough to drive some really meaningful change. [For tickets and more information on the panel, please click here.]
(Pictured: Christian Wilkins, Influencer)