About the programme 

The Quest is a two-day learning programme for youth aged 15-21, designed to provide them positive support and help them craft their life vision. 

What will participants learn?

Participants will:

• Develop knowledge and experience about the visioning and planning process and its connection to wellbeing.  The output is an inspirational vision board filled with goals. Participants prioritise one long-term goal for each category and learn to implement strategies to achieve them.

• Unpack their goals from long to short-term, experiment completing them by taking small achievable steps by utilising our bespoke ‘Goal 2 Action’ tool and building capacity to take control of their own progress.

"The pictures and the stories we shared gave me the confidence to share these in other places, like with my friends and family" - [Participant]

"I was surprised with the information that came from [person I support], some of it was completely new to me!" - [Participant's support person]

"i was taken aback by how many ideas my daughter had about future directions for her life... these had never come up in family conversations before, but my daughter said that this creative  process, which includes expanding on ideas from the images she chose, gave her lots more new directions to explore" - [Participant's father]

Our team has extensive combined experience in the program co-design methodology, in facilitation and in local connections and networks. 

Dr. Annick Janson is an Associate at the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington, past Research Director at the NZ Leadership Institute, University of Auckland Business School and Research Director, Microsoft NZ. She is the c-President of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology and Fellow of the Gallup International Positive Psychology Institute. Annick trained as an educational psychologist with 20 years of experience and lived experience raising her adult disabled son. Her special interest in youth development and network building in the disability sector. Annick is Co-Founder and Research Director of the Now and Next and Keys to Lead suite of programs for youth and families. Rolled out in New Zealand, Australia, Finland and Canada, this Research and Development program pioneers the implementation of Positive Psychology in the Health & Disability sector as an alternative to the traditional deficit-based medical model.

Melissa Janson: Growing up as the sister to a neurodiverse person has been a powerful experience. Melissa believes that societies can benefit enormously, when people with disabilities are supported in such a way that they can contribute and share their gifts, as her brother has. She especially enjoys working with other siblings. In the past 6 years she set up an on-site Positive Behaviour Support team at a residential service provider, made up of about 180 people with disabilities and upwards of 500 staff. Together with her colleagues, she worked to create a space of wellbeing rather than crisis, by training staff in simple evidence-based strategies to use with people they support everyday. She has joined Now and Next, as she knows that this wellbeing and prevention work should start early. She is excited about teaming up with families and supporting their unique journeys.

Janine Morrah has lived experience with disability. She teaches at tertiary level in Linguistics, Human Development, Anthropology and Management. After tutoring and lecturing for 20 years, she shifted into the Disability sector, supporting youth and their family/whanau of those with needs. Working with youth inspires Janine to do better and consider things from more than one point of view – There's more than one way to get to the same end point and she has found that the journey to get there has more meaning than that final goal attainment. “I find that I learn just as much from those keen enquiring minds as they do soaking up the knowledge I bring for them to take and shape in their worlds”.