Project Description

JESSICA WATSON

“You are only as big of the dreams you dare to live!”

Jessica Watson – OAM

TRAVELS FROM THE SUNSHINE COAST WITHIN AUSTRALIA & INTERNATIONALLY

In a keynote presentation delivered in a genuine and compelling style, Jessica shares the lessons that enabled her to achieve a feat that only a handful of people throughout history

  • Jessica encourages audiences to challenge their expectations of themselves, stresses that anyone is capable of achieving extraordinary feat

  • Resilience was instrumental to Jessica’s ability to overcome the many challenges faced during more than three years of preparation and 210 days alone at sea.

  • In recognition of her achievement Jessica was named the 2011 Young Australian of the Year and the following year was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.

Discover more about Jessica Watson

TRAVELS FROM THE SUNSHINE COAST WITHIN AUSTRALIA & INTERNATIONALLY

Jessica Watson (OAM) navigated some of the world’s most remote oceans and survived seven knockdowns and 210 days alone at sea to become the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop around the world, aged 16. On completion of the voyage, Jessica was met by the then Prime Minister who declared her an Australian hero. In a simple speech that won admiration across Australian and around the world, she responded to the Prime Minister by announcing that she disagreed with him, that she didn’t consider herself a hero—just an ‘ordinary person, who had a dream, worked hard at it and proved that anything really is possible’.

Despite her early struggles with dyslexia, Jessica became a storyteller, firstly on her popular blog and then in her bestselling, internationally published book True Spirit. The documentary she filmed while at sea was narrated by Sir Richard Branson, and the producers of Oscar-nominated movie Lion are currently working on a film adaption of Jessica’s story.

Jessica was named Young Australian of the Year 2011 and has gone on to lead various projects, including a team that became the youngest ever to compete in Australia’s notorious Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The project saw the youth crew finish second in their division, and Jessica was awarded the Jane Tate trophy for the first female skipper.

Jessica’s role as a Youth Representative for The United Nations World Food Programme has taken her to remote Laos and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Now aged 24, Jessica is the co-founder of a marine start-up, Deckee.com, is currently undertaking an MBA and her second book, a middle-grade novel, is scheduled to be published in early 2018.

Testimonials

Discover what other’s say about Jessica

“Jessica has been an outstanding key-note speaker for Domain. Warm, authentic and well prepared. Jessica has spoken several times for us to a variety of audiences and each time the room has been captivated with her compelling story. I highly recommend her for any speaking event.”

Melina Cruickshank - Chief Editorial & Marketing Officer, Domain

“Thank you for your time and sharing your experiences with the IBM leadership team last week. Your story is truly inspiring and really resonated with the team to help push us out of our comfort zones and take on the challenges ahead of us. I really valued the time you spent with us, and the open discussion with the team was humbling and extremely motivating.”

David La Rose - Managing Director, IBM Australia & New Zealand
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