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Featured in: Highlighting Australia
As a proudly Australian initiative, we’re excited to showcase a collection of Australian stories, music, tributes and more.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Erfan Daliri, a Baha’i living in Australia who’s an educator, author, event director and an internationally toured spoken word artist. I had heard Erfan’s ‘Unfazed‘ performance at the Sydney Theatre Company, and when I got to meet him, he told me all about an awesome new initiative he had started called the Newkind Festival, an immersive six day conference in Tasmania, Australia, that brings together thought leaders, innovators, pioneers and inspirational speakers from around the world to build capacity, and inspire participants to make a positive impact on society.
I decided to catch up with Erfan to hear some more about the festival and here’s what he had to say:
The Newkind Festival is actually a conference for social change. A six day event where we bring educators, thought-leaders, activists, advocates and inspirational speakers to empower participants and help us refine and develop our service-based projects and social enterprises. It’s a call to action really, for agents of change to upskill, learn and collaborate for the purpose of social change and global justice.
I don’t know quite how to describe myself, to be honest. I’m an author, a performing artist, a poet, a gypsy, a social entrepreneur. I’ve done a bunch of different things in life including youth work, international spoken word tours, and social change consultancy. When I was about 25 I went back to university to complete a post-graduate degree in communication for social change, and that changed everything!
I decided to launch Newkind because I felt I wanted to do more than I had been doing. I wanted to address the root causes of injustice and inequality. I designed Newkind as an alternative to the entertainment-focused festivals and the information based conferences on offer. Instead, Newkind is an empowering experience that increases the capacity and confidence of attendees to make a positive social impact in the world. Festivals are a powerful tool for setting or shifting culture because of their fully immersive nature, and of course, so many thousands of youth go to them. So I used that format and changed the content.
Yeah, totally. I think it’s super important to have events like Newkind where we can engage in conversations relating to social change and prepare in very real and tangible ways. If we are to achieve economic justice or the elimination of prejudice or the equality of genders we should create more and more spaces to not only have these conversations but also to actively learn from those at the forefront. Academics, activists, advocates, innovators and inventors; we have to foster more spaces for these types of people to come together and work collaboratively for social change.
It is my hope that participants will enlighten themselves with new learnings, tools and insights, understand intersectionality, foster solidarity with other social justice movements, and most importantly to continue their efforts for social change with greater fervour, vigor and effectiveness. Whether that be in the field of early childhood education, advocacy, academics or social services. Whether we are university students, parents, retirees or mid-career professionals, the truth is we all want to have a positive impact and Newkind hopes to help with that.
The response has been immense. The intention set and the call to action has resonated massively with a great number of people from all over the world. It seems to have struck a chord and people have been drawn to this idea of ‘Agents of Change’. Championing citizen agency, individual initiative and carrying the responsibility of social justice on our own shoulders, is a message that a lot of people have been drawn to. It’s timely, it’s empowering, and it fosters solidarity between people.
The programme includes lectures, workshops and discussion panels focused on discussing the root causes of injustice, and then on how to address them, We cover education, environment, economics, self-improvement, sustainability, and arts for social change. The mornings include meditation, or exercise or yoga, the evenings include music and theatre, and the days are packed with classes to attend and epic conversations. The event follows a 6 day arch of Arrival, Context, Success Stories, Tools and Skills, Project Planning, and Departure.
As a social change initiative it is different in the proactive approach we take to addressing issues of social justice and ‘training’ agents of social change. As a festival sitting in the festival scene, it is completely different from the majority of festivals in the country in that we are a zero waste, solar powered, alcohol-free, plant-based diet event that uses no non-renewable energy or animal products and is not about entertainment but rather about education.
You can check out the following sites and social media pages:
www.newkindfestival.com
www.facebook.com/newkindfestival
www.instagram.com/newkindfestivalYou can also purchase tickets to the festival here on Event Brite.
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Horizons is an online magazine of news, stories and reflections from around individuals, communities
and Baha’i institutions around Australia
Baha’i beliefs address essential spiritual themes for humanity’s collective and individual advancement. Learn more about these and more.
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I am so happy about this Newkind Festival and how Erfan Daliri is approaching such a new and exiting path for Youth, Adults and even Grandmothers. I grew up in Switzerland and my Dad was the first Baha’i in the German Part of Switzerland. he died in 1996 just before his 100 Birthday, but I m sure, he will be so happy,that this Newkind Festival is happening. This is exactly what he was working for all his life. Thank you so much. Elisabeth Zillig-Goeltenboth (My Dads name was Fritz Semle.)
Elisabeth Zillig-Goeltenboth (October 10, 2018 at 8:28 PM)
Kudos to Erfan! Amazing job! Thanks for sharing
Flavio Azm (October 10, 2018 at 11:17 PM)
I am flooded with over flowing joy to learn about newkind festival where burning issues like equality in gender, race, social and economic justice are being converse on and finding ways forward as relate to our current reality. As we can see new technologies and tools emerging everyday how we can catch up these new innovations to contribute towards unity of human race, economic justice, etc I look forward to be part of this space Erfan initiated to learn what is new and share what I know or doing in relation to this concept.
Ogbonna Nwachukwu (October 10, 2018 at 11:49 PM)
Reading about the Newkind Festival brought me back to when I first became Baha’i in about 1969 in the States. There was so much change and growth taking place both inside and outside the Baha’i community.
The Newkind Festival is very innovative and well thought out. Wishing you all the best from the bottom of my heart.
Kathleen Riggins (October 10, 2018 at 9:11 AM)