Winning the University of Auckland Young New Zealander of the Year Award in February has helped Guy Ryan and his charity, Inspiring Stories, bring his vision for New Zealand a step closer to reality.
Ryan has a bold goal: a nation that backs young New Zealanders to tackle the big and complex problems our society faces. He's the founder and CEO of Inspiring Stories, which provides opportunities and support to help young Kiwis unleash their potential to change the world.
"We have 16 to 25-year-olds telling us they want to make a difference now," he says. "They don't want to wait 20 years. They're developing ideas and putting them into action - and my dream is to support that on an unprecedented scale, so that we all benefit."
He says the impact of winning a category in the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards has been massive.
"The award was hugely validating and has given me more confidence to dream bigger, and go all out to back young people who want to create a better New Zealand," he says.
"It has opened doors and given me a chance to sit down with many influential New Zealanders and organisations that share our vision and want to help.
"Now we want all Kiwis on board. Young New Zealanders are creative, innovative and committed in their quest for social, economic and environmental change. By supporting them to develop their capability, we're creating a healthier, happier, and more productive New Zealand."
Now 29, Ryan became interested in social entrepreneurship at university, where he organised a month-long adventure festival of tree-planting and rubbish-clearing on West Coast beaches, and made an award-winning film about young New Zealanders working to create solutions to climate change.
Ryan set up Inspiring Stories in 2011. It has now worked with nearly 5000 young Kiwis through its programmes and workshops, including its national Festival for the Future and a 10-week accelerator programme called Live the Dream.
2015 has been a whirlwind year for Ryan. In July, he spoke at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Milan, sitting on a high-powered panel which included Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus.
In September, Inspiring Stories will host Festival for the Future for the fifth time, giving young people a chance to explore big issues, share ideas and hear from speakers working to make the world a better place. All 400 tickets to the event sold out before the programme had even been released.
Also in September, Inspiring Stories will be launching its boldest-ever initiative - raising a million dollars in a month to kick-start its new Future Fund. The returns from the professionally-managed endowment will be used to make programmes more accessible, provide more scholarships to events like Festival for the Future, and give seed grants and tailored support to help young people grow great ideas.
"The overwhelming response to Festival for the Future shows young people are hungry to create change themselves," says Ryan. "A lot of young people get a bad rap for being selfish or apathetic. But we see the opposite, and believe it's critical to channel that potential into creating better outcomes for society.
"There's a huge gap in the funding available to help young people develop ideas that have the potential to really make a difference. We see many cases where a grant of as little as $500 could allow a project with tangible benefits to happen," says Ryan.
Ryan believes nominating people for the Young New Zealander of the Year Award is a great way to support younger Kiwis trying to make a difference.
"There aren't many awards to recognise or support young people. Celebrating young social entrepreneurs is a way of giving them the confidence they need to achieve great things," he says.
"Nominating someone for the awards is a very generous thing to do. It's a way of saying, 'Hey - I think you're awesome, let's celebrate that.'"
•The 2016 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards give people the chance to nominate an individual or community organisation that makes them proud to be a Kiwi. Nominations close on 30 September 2015. To nominate someone you know for any of the award categories. To nominate someone you know in any of the award categories, visit http://nzawards.org.nz/nominate/