Nipuni Wijewickrema
Co-Founder, Lifeline Suicide Counsellor, Social Entrepreneur
Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Communications and Journalism
Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Communications and Journalism
Fresh out of high school, Nip created GG’s Flowers, a purpose built inclusive employer to hire her sister. Gayana has Down’s Syndrome and employment opportunities for her were grim. Nip speaks to high school students about her experience of taking her garden shed project to a fully fledged business; with a side order of improving the lives’ of those with a disability.
Nip is a humble leader who has become the face of diversity and inclusion in Canberra. She has taken life by the horns and has embraced the difficulty of her sister’s struggles and evolved the world around her in order to make it a better place for those who she loves and beyond.
“Nip is an unstoppable force when it comes to creating meaningful employment for people with disabilities. She has built a business and a community that creates positive power for good and gives purpose to people with disabilities. Her extraordinary tenacity and incredible work ethic, mean that she has built a sustainable business from the grassroots up.” Leonie, Sydney
Click on the speech titles below to these three popular speech summaries.
GG’s Flowers moved quickly from a small operation conducted in the only spare room in the house to a major enterprise with purpose-built facilities. Nip shares the process of starting a social enterprise and discusses the highs and lows of running a small business, leaving the corporate world for her dream job that has one hitch – no salary, and explains how and why she does what she does and how you can do it too.
Curriculum references: Business Studies, Economics
Gayana, the cheeky inspiration behind GG’s Flowers, is lucky she can’t understand the sniggers, stares and comments that sometimes come her way when out and about. This social entrepreneur shares her experiences and thoughts on building an inclusive community with frank and disarming honesty and shares a heartbreaking story that will make everyone think twice about the way people with special needs are treated.
Curriculum references: Ethics, Personal Development
Here Nip talks about the essential characteristics of social enterprises, how to design one which works, why it’s important for communities to support them, how they provide value back to those communities, and what the future holds for those keen to put their social ideas into action. Nip introduces you to some great social enterprises and tells how you can go about supporting them.
Curriculum references: Business Studies, Economics, Ethics, Personal Development
Nip is also a Lifeline suicide counsellor and social entrepreneur. Her industry expertise includes
• Facing and overcoming obstacles as an entrepreneur
• Building social enterprises
• Running small businesses
• Inclusion of people with disabilities
Lucy Bloom
Jimmy Halfcut
Nip Wijewickrema
Oliver Lee
Skye Stewart
