Tech 21

This happens to be my twenty-first blog on my re-furbed website. So, I decided I’d blog about one of my favourite events – Tech 21. This was the first time I’d worked on an event as part of Techweek. Ever since I got into conference production, I’ve enjoyed working on events that are designed for New Zealand schools and their curriculum. I’m constantly amazed at how much things have changed since I’ve been at school, here in New Zealand, and the opportunities that are available to students today.

The concept for the event was to showcase technology, and a career in tech to low decile schools (that were selected by the Ministry of Education). Both the speaker line-up and the expo floor with the activations played an important role for these students. This was also the first event I did that was designed for students rather than teachers, principals, other leadership team at schools.

I got to work closely with some of the sponsors of Techweek 2021, who also wanted a presence at this event, whilst building a pipeline of other New Zealand companies. I’m honoured to have had the opportunity and priviledge to have worked with the likes of Weta FX, Media Design School, ARA Journeys and many more. In addition, I had the honour of working with some great speakers including Alexia Hilbertidou, Sir Ian Taylor, Anne Taunga, Brittany Teei and the list goes on.

More than anything, this event is even more special to me as it gave me the opportunity to get one step closer to my goal of becoming a promoter. As part of the event, we had to book an NZ artist for a 10-minute set to kickstart the event. I went through the process of booking and confirming Kings for this. It was exciting going through this process. When he took the stage, I cried like a baby, behind the tech desk (sorry tech boys!). My hands were shaking. Those 10-minutes felt like a dream come true. The students loved him, and he enjoyed being there.

Sometimes you get to achieve your goals through the most unexpected places. But another learning is to enjoy the present. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to go back to those moments and feel those emotions all over again. From receiving the first email response from Kings, to confirming him, to seeing him go on stage at your event. Here’s hoping to go through this all over again.

Until next time,

Mili