Unleash Your Greatness Tourism Conference

Unleashing Your Greatness

Buhle Dlamini, Entrepreneur and International Speaker

Join us for an inspirational closing session of the Wild Islands Tourism Advancement Partnership. Raised in a rural village in South Africa, and now living in Pictou, NS Buhle Dlamini beat the odds to become a top South African entrepreneur and international speaker. Buhle weaves his background and personal story of triumph over struggle into all his presentations. Shaped by iconic leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, Buhle will share a unique and inspirational message that will challenge all of us to seek greatness in all that we do by being who we are, embracing our distinction, pursuing excellence and living our values.

Engagement and Social Media

Jan-Sebastin Lapierre and Chris Surette – A for Adventure

A for Adventure is located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The A for Adventure movement aims to inspire kids, families and people to get out and explore the world around them! They believe that spending more time outside connecting with nature helps to build greater curiosity, creativity and resiliency. They use social media and captivating videos to show the best our province has to offer.

Aboriginal Tourism

Robert Bernard, Past Chair – Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada

Aboriginal tourism is gaining interest and momentum as the global visitor is seeking authentic, unique experiences. This session will explore the traditional and cultural history of the Mi’kmaw people in Nova Scotia and demonstrate how Indigenous communities have successfully partnered with other tourism destinations. Come learn how to provide authentic Aboriginal experience to your guests.

Leadership Principles

Dr. Norman Ferguson, John Maxwell Leadership

Dr. Ferguson dedicates himself to being an excellent coach, so that he can help busy professionals figure out what they want and how they are going to get it. He helps them discover what is getting in their way, and how they can overcome those obstacles. Dr. Ferguson wants to help people bridge the “know-do” gap. That is the gap between what they know they should do, and actually doing it.

Thinking Outside the Box to Get Things Done

Amy Schwartz – Unleash Surf

Amy is the loyal but mischievous friend who convinced you to go night swimming, sing in math class, eat too many mangoes, tell the whole truth, start the dance floor, stand up for justice, show some love and take the plane rather than the job. Her secret-not-secret passion is finding herself at home everywhere: from a 43 ft sailboat en route from Cape-Town to Florida, to the local matriarch’s front lawn on Easter Island, a first-edition VW bus in Argentine Patagonia, a raft on the Karnali river in Nepal, a bike in the Peruvian Amazon, a makeshift mat in an ‘untouchables’ village in Madhya Pradesh, her hammock-tent on a Mozambiqe beach, next to more surf-breaks than she cares to admit to and in a kayak in the Eastern Shore’s 100 Wild Islands – thanks to Coastal Adventures giving her summer jobs!

Before launching Unleash – a remote-working experience for surfers with wanderlust, Amy was a specialist in creating healthy and active places that you’d like to linger in, developing government policy for community-led sustainable energy and guiding outdoor adventure tours. She’s gotten accolades as an Agent of Change by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and as a top 50 Under-40 entrepreneurial leader by 21inc. She grew up in East Chezzetcook and lives in Halifax.

Keynote on Small Business

Andrew Button- Mashup Lab

In 2014 Andrew founded Mashup Lab; a for-more-than-profit company that activates rural ideas. That same year he launched a chapter of the Awesome Foundation in his community. Andrew has since gone on to launch another social enterprise – CO3, a fresh new co-working space for Freelancers, Entrepreneurs, and Independents located in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.