Panel Discussion/ Ask A Teenager

Join us for a panel discussion with Darren O’ Donnell, founder and director of Mammalian Diving Reflex, Neil Winterburn who facilitated the Ask A Teenager project workshops and Gaby Jenks, AND Festival Manager. We’ll also be joined by the young people who led on the project.

About the project

Teenagers are famously complex and emotionally unstable. Their limbic systems are on over-drive, their hormones are running amok, they’re prone to staying up late, sleeping well past noon and taking crazy risks.

It’s no accident. Scientists believe that teen brains are particularly alive, active and sensitive. Their behaviour is an evolutionary feature: it’s how teens define and distinguish themselves; it’s how they get things done.
Teen brains are fast, risking-taking blobs that make creative and sometimes bizarre leaps and associations, giving them an adaptive edge. This is a scientific fact.

We invite you to submit your problems to us online in the run up to AND Festival and we’ll pass them onto our panel of teens. They’ll work on your problem with their highly adaptable brains and get back to you with their advice through our website or during a live performance at First Street.

Commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices.

Photo by: Chozin Tenzin. Pictured: Wendell Williams and Mike Gousvaris

How to book or take part

There are several methods for getting involved with Ask a Teenager depending on the level of participation you’re most comfortable with.

  • Attend the panel discussion.