Inspirational athlete to host Gore Youth Awards
This year’s Gore District Youth Awards are already shaping up to be a spectacular night with double gold medal Paralympian blade-runner Liam Malone confirmed as MC and guest speaker.
The Gore District Youth Council has also come up with a new date for the event so it coincides with Youth Week.
The 2019 awards will be held on Saturday 25 May, at the St James Theatre.
The change of date will take the pressure off having an event during the busy pre-Christmas period and at a time when students are focusing on end of year exams.
Youth councillors also believe the event is a perfect fit for Youth Week, which is about recognising the amazing contributions and achievements of young people in New Zealand.
The Youth Council has had Liam Malone in its sights as MC for some time.
Liam became a household name when he broke the previous Paralympic records held by Oscar Pistorius at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
His story of hitting rock bottom while at university to turning it all around and receiving two golds and a silver medal is quite inspiring. His times on the track make him New Zealand’s second fastest 400m sprinter ever – legs or not!
Now retired from blade-running Liam has followed his passion for technology and innovation to work with Auckland-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm Soul Machines, known for their cutting edge, world leading AI technology.
Liam speaks on the fascinating movements in AI, digital disruption, innovation and more. Unlike many futurists, Liam is working with these technologies and seeing their advances daily.
Nominations for the Youth Awards open in the next few weeks and tickets go on sale in early May.