James Mathison, Benjamin Law And Demi Lardner Are Some Of The First Delegates For Junket 2016

You guys, it’s happening again! Junkee is very excited to announce the first batch of confirmed delegates for Junket 2016, a handpicked list of young entrepreneurs, game-changers, activists, and very talented people who will join us for our annual unconference in Canberra from September 25-27. 

If you didn’t follow Junket last year, the idea is to get together a bunch of Australia’s best young minds and give them the space to share ideas, be inspired, network and get advice (oh and sometimes just let loose and dance to Beyoncé). Last year was exciting, challenging and super energising, and we’re pumped about coming back next month.

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Who Is Actually Coming?

There’s a lot to consider when picking the delegates for Junket. We try to get a mix of young people from different fields, differing points of view and from a diverse range of cultural and religious backgrounds, and gender and health identities. Junket isn’t about reinforcing the status quo, but about challenging each other and sparking inspiration. We want to start conversations that the delegates will take and run with.

Some of the confirmed Junket delegates for 2016 include TV presenter-turned-aspiring politician James Mathison, Young Australians of The Year 2016 from Orange Sky Laundry Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, writer Benjamin Law, musicians Phoebe Baker and Christian O’Brien from Alpine, comedian Demi Lardner, Belvoir Theatre’s Artistic Director Eamon Flack, Pozible co-founder Rick Chen, broadcaster and movie critic Marc Fennell, DJ and musician Motez, health blogger Caroline Groth, critically acclaimed artist Abdul Abdullah, Tourism Australia’s Jesse Desjardins, LGBTQI activist Nic Holas, British India singer Declan Melia, Collabosaurus founder Jessica Ruhfus, Ben Naparsteck from SBS, young Winemaker Gwyn Olsen, Junkee Editor Meg Watson (AKA Boss Lady) and many more experts who have already made an impact in their field or who are about to hit it big.

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What Will They Be Talking About?

We’re interested in hearing the delegates’ view of Australia past and present, with the common thread being the experiences of young people around the country. Topics that will be covered include:

• Human rights
• Entertainment
• Technology
• Media
• Sport
• Politics
• Business
• Fashion
• Music
• Gender and sexuality

These broad topics will be used as jumping off points for discussion. In the past we’ve touched on conversations as diverse as Australians and digital privacy and the minutiae of the asylum seeker debate, to why so many young people are so financially illiterate and whether internships are ever really worth it. We’re also asking people to submit their own ideas or themes on social media using the #JUNKET hashtag, so get tweetin’!

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So… What Actually Happens?

Look, that’s a fair question. The first year of Junket was a chaotic, awesome experiment and on the whole it went extremely well. Feel free to have a look at our recaps from last year, from the collecting of pitches and discussion ideas on day one, to the outcomes, themes and feedback of the weekend on the whole.

Our own Publisher Tim Duggan said: “We’re proud to host an event with the pretty ambitious aim of tackling some of the bigger issues that we know millennials are increasingly caring more about. The connections and conversations that start at Junket will echo for a very long time after the event.”

Probably the best way to ascertain the vibe is to take a squiz at Anne Moffatt’s brilliant photo essay of the weekend, which also includes lots of images of people in animated discussions gesturing very passionately with one hand, with a glass of wine in their other hand. That about sums it up, really.

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Find out more about Junket here.