Lifehack Community Hui happening 2016

Calling all great humans…

Fill out our 5 minute survey before 10 January to tell us what our Lifehack Community Hui for March 2016 should involve!

The Lifehack Community Hui is about building and strengthening the Lifehack community. Sounds nice doesn’t it—but what’s it all about? Who’s it for? Can I afford it?

We have the amazing Paul McGregor who caught up with himself to answer those questions and more. Paul has been part of this year’s Flourishing Fellowship and is helping the Lifehack team organise the community hui.

Kia ora Paul. So tell us, where did the idea for Lifehack Community Hui come from?

For me it grew out of Lifehack’s Flourishing Fellowship earlier this year. The Fellowship was based around a three weekend hui; the kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) contact was one of the most powerful aspects of the programme. We found so much power in bringing a diverse group of people together to focus on a shared interest in youth wellbeing. Everybody in the Fellowship had such a different experience when it comes to working on and with wellbeing, which provided the opportunity to learn from each other.

So the Fellows wanted to keep that vibe going?

Exactly. We talked a lot about how to continue the Fellowship after the end of the official programme—so we committed to organising something that would bring us and the rest of the growing Lifehack whānau back together again.

But the hui is for everybody who’s previously been involved with, or attended, a previous Lifehack programme or event, right?

Yep, sure is. The idea is to bring people from Lifehack’s various programmes together: from Lifehack weekends, the Flourishing Fellowship, Lifehack Labs, Venture Support, Te Kōanga as well as the wider community of mentors and supporters. There’s so much wisdom in the people who’ve contributed to Lifehack’s programmes—including designers, public health practitioners, government workers and so much more.

So what will the hui actually involve?

Inspiration, community building, a quiet thinking space, maybe some dancing, skills development, team building, helping one another on project work, river swims etc. It’s a weekend gathering for the Lifehack community that will provide an opportunity for individuals to upskill and find inspiration for their work on improving the wellbeing of young New Zealanders.

That’s what we think so far anyway. But we want to hear from the Lifehack community about what you want from the hui. This survey provides the first chance for people to have a say about the sorts of workshops and activities the Lifehack community needs.Sounds expensive…

Good point. That’s why we’re looking into social ticketing—where it’s cheaper for people needing to travel from afar, or for those without a regular income. And we’re also going to have discounted ticket prices for people who play a part in organising the hui. So if you want to help with logistics beforehand, or set up on the day, organise participants etc then your ticket price would reflect this.

Long-term, what good do you want to create with the hui?

We want people to come away inspired and better supported to work together on projects that improve youth wellbeing in New Zealand. Lifehack’s vision of 100% of young kiwis “flourishing” by 2050 isn’t an easy one. It’s something we all need to band together to work on.

And how did you come to be organising this?

I found during the Fellowship that I really enjoyed supporting the Fellows in their work. I was also a bit in awe of the awesome facilitation and organisational skills of the Lifehack Crew, and wanted to put myself in a place where I could learn from them. So of course, I put my hand up.

So what’re you looking for from the Lifehack community?

Right now, just five minutes for our survey! We can’t wait to hear about what you think about the idea of a Lifehack Community Hui and the types of workshops and how you can contribute to make this one of the highlights of 2016