Blame it on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Whiti Ihimaera’s Whale Rider (1987), Taika Waititi’s coming-of-age film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), or the thriller-comedy Housebound (2014); whatever the cause, I have always been in love with the idea of travelling to Aotearoa.
The people, the landscapes, the culture, the history, and the natural wonders ached like a kind of nostalgia for a place I’d never been.
So, when Sean and Lizi offered me a space on a work trip to Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand, my heart replied for me — “yes”.
Zero Ceiling has partnered with a team of researchers at Royal Roads University to conduct an ongoing study of the impact of our program, Work 2 Live. The last three years of research had been funded through a contract with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. Part of our deliverables was to disseminate the outcomes of the study.
Our wonderful research team applied to conferences, journals, and summits globally. One of their acceptances was to the 17th Leisure Congress at the University of Dunedin from 11-15 December, 2023. They budgeted for staff to join the researchers and share about the practical, day-to-day side of the program.
Dunedin is a lovely university city, with lots of rolling hills and architecture that wouldn’t look out of place in the old parts of Scotland. If not for the native plants and birds and the sometimes tropical weather, I would have thought I was in Europe.
Thankfully, I was in good hands; our Program Manager, Dan, had lived in Dunedin for many years, and created a wonderful guide book on things not to miss. Additionally, my travel partner, Dr. Kathleen Manion, PhD., had lived in New Zealand for many years.
Kathleen (left) and Jill (right) enjoying the botanical gardens at the top of on one of Dunedin’s many hills.
In our downtime, we took in cafes, shops, museums, and the oceanfront. We even went to one of my favourite places to find in a city vacation — the Botanical Gardens! Everywhere you looked were delightful views and charming cityscapes.
The conference itself was intense; it was my first time in an academic setting since I had been at university, and feelings of imposter syndrome abounded.
We were in the first slot on the first day, right after the opening ceremonies.
Kathleen and I presented on “Reciprocal Benefits in a Tourist Town: Tackling staff shortages and youth barriers to employment and housing”. We mixed Royal Roads’ findings with Zero Ceiling’s approach, and it went down a treat. We got lots of great questions about funding and how the program works. We made a few contacts; others in the field of supporting young people through leisure-based programs.
The conference was definitely out of my comfort zone. I’m not one for schmoozing or focussing on a singular, narrow topic with the kind of fervor required to be a presenting scholar. However, I found a group of lovely people from all over the world, who were passionate about improving the world through leisure and land-based programming — just like us!
One thing’s for sure — we are not the only people grappling with questions about how to run effective and mutually beneficial programs to support the economic needs of our community. There were loads of fantastic ideas and programs. However, one thing was clear: our blend of supportive employment, youth leadership, decolonization work, and the magic sauce of land-based recreation really is one-of-a-kind.
Thank you to Zero Ceiling, Kathleen, the other researchers at Royal Roads, the funders at the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and the 17th World Leisure Congress for having me. It was the trip of a lifetime and I will definitely be back to Middle Earth.
