Five years, endless impact, as Festival of Change returns

CQUniversity's annual Festival of Change is back for its fifth year in August 2022, inspiring innovative ways to drive sustainability, social enterprise, and community.

Featuring two weeks of free events across nine campuses and online, the learning festival will celebrate social innovation and hear from experienced changemakers leading projects that are changing the world.

The exciting schedule puts a big focus on participation, with headline events including a one-hour social enterprise design challenge, and opportunities to shop, eat, store food, travel, and grow communities sustainably.

It's also the first time the Festival of Change will connect with school students' thanks to an exciting session for senior school jarjums at Hymba Yumba Independent School, featuring CQUniversity Outstanding Alumnus of the Year and Indigenous health care leader, Dr Marjad Page.

From Monday 1 August - Friday 12 August, CQUniversity staff, students and community members can connect across 20 online and on-campus events.

In 2021, hundreds of people from across Australia joined Festival of Change events, and Social Innovation Program Manager Steve Williams said the 2022 line-up featured new and challenging offerings.

"Participants will hear from innovators behind social enterprises and big industry, learn about new approaches to ending food waste and grow circular economies, be inspired by Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, and discover why CQUniversity is Australia's first social enterprise," he said.

"The Festival of Change is an opportunity for participants to engage with people passionate about social impact, hear from inspiring speakers, and build their own capacity as changemakers.

"We hope it sparks bright ideas that create connections in our communities and opens up opportunities for new projects and solutions."

Explore the full free program at cqu.edu.au/festivalofchange.

Held annually since 2018, Festival of Change is part of CQUniversity's social innovation work as a global Ashoka U Changemaker University, and as Australia's first social enterprise university certified by Social Traders.