“Start small, start now.”
Flashing back to mid-2021, I stood in front of the Festival For The Future (FFTF) main stage after witnessing first-hand the impact of exchanging ideas and working collectively towards a better future of Aotearoa New Zealand. A thought instantly popped up in my mind - I dreamt of creating something like FTFF, a Vietnam-version one.
What’s next? Where do I start? This thought has been staying at the back of my mind ever since. I slowly let this thought sink in as I get on with my life as a fresh graduate. Little did I know, this new stage of life has given me the perspectives to shape the idea more explicitly.
As a fresh graduate, I did not have a robust professional network at first. I started receiving mentorship and generous support from others who had walked this path, from professional context to how they navigate & build their life in New Zealand.
I realized the power of having someone share their insights, providing some direction so that I can navigate my own life and figure out what works for me. This reminds me of what Kobe Bryant once said: “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”
I want to do something similar for the young Vietnamese fellows in New Zealand, to create a foundation for Vietnamese in New Zealand to try, fail, learn, and be great at their own things.
I want to connect the generations of Vietnamese in New Zealand, starting in a professional capacity, to provide an opportunity for everyone to learn, connect, and build meaningful relationships.
I know I can’t do this alone.
4 months ago, I told some of my friends about this idea, and surprisingly, they have thought of something similar or shared the same excitement towards the initiative. ✨Tada!✨ We slowly started drafting something and working on our very raw idea. Fast forward to this day, we have a full team of students and professionals working on a mission to serve other Vietnamese fellows in New Zealand, particularly students and graduates. The road has been bumpy as we juggle our full-time day job, study, and part-time jobs, and to top all that with this passion project.
I’m proud to share that we are on track to build DreamMakers Hub - a project to support and develop the skills of young Vietnamese people in New Zealand, starting with the DreamMakers Career Summit on 30/09/2023 in Auckland. We aim to create something new, helpful, and meaningful for the young Viets in New Zealand. The goal is to deliver the first one this year, learn from this experience, and do it again next year (website & full programme coming soon!).
We didn’t know where to begin. We had no agenda back then. We decided to start anyway. Ideas will forever live in our heads rent-free until we act on them.
You don’t have to start perfect. “Start small, start now.”
