EMERGING LEADERS 2015 Conference shows that everyone can be a leader
Awakening awareness of students’ personal leadership abilities was one of the aims of this year’s one-day Emerging Leadership Conference for Year 12 students.
More than 550 students from 25 Canterbury schools attended the conference, which is hosted by Christ’s College in association with the Sir Peter Blake Trust and is free to participants. Organiser Mr Darrell Thatcher says “This is the seventh conference we have held and schools now put it in their calendars. There has been a significant growth in interest and schools are keen to send their potential Year 13 leaders so they can think about what leadership means and how they can take up the challenges. “One very popular aspect of the day was when participants talked about the community service programmes their schools were running, which gives others ideas about what they too can do. “One student from Ellesmere College told us she had been so motivated by the previous years’ conference that she went back and started organising replanting around Te Waihora, Lake Ellesmere.’’ Workshop presenters are also very keen to return each year as they see the value in getting young people thinking about leadership, says Mr Thatcher.
This year, College Old Boy Alex Reese talked to the
more collaborative and lead from alongside people.’’ Jock Pattie says he learned that a leader is one who inspires others to do something, to set an example or who physically leads to get things done. “I can see there are lots of different kinds of leadership and you don’t always have to be hands on.’’
conference about the Cricket Live foundation he has developed for underprivileged children in India. Sport for Development is a method of bringing about social or global change using sport as a vehicle. Mr Thatcher says Alex Reese is a classic case of getting an idea and going with it, making it happen. “We want the students to realise that leadership is not about ranting and raving and making a lot of noise,’’ says Mr Thatcher. “We want them to think about their own particular leadership abilities and realise that many people don’t think they have these. They just need to recognise that they do and develop them.’’ Year 12 student Awhi Goodall said before the conference he was not sure exactly what leadership meant – it was just a word. However listening to people’s leadership stories at the conference helped him define what he would look for in a leader or what he would do if he was in a position to be a leader himself. “I could see myself as a leader, but not a Hitler–type leader,’’ he says. “I would want to be
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