The Growth Faculty

We attended the Michelle Obama event in Sydney on May 21 and, unfortunately, the overall experience fell far below expectations given the ticket prices and the way the event was marketed. Despite arriving more than 30 minutes early, we spent the entire time queued outside in the rain through multiple slow-moving lines for security, coat check and entry processing. Most disappointingly, the event began while hundreds of attendees were still stuck outside trying to get in, causing many people to miss part or all of the Welcome to Country delivered by Wiradjuri Elders. This felt deeply disrespectful both to attendees and to the significance of that opening.

Once inside, the production and staging choices further detracted from the experience. Despite three screens being available, only the two smaller side screens displayed the speakers, while the large central screen remained mostly static with branding and quotes. The house lights also stayed unusually bright throughout the event, making it difficult to focus on the stage or feel immersed in the conversation. In addition, the camera angle remained side-on for most of the event, meaning many audience members never had a clear front-on view of the speakers, even via the screens.

Beyond the venue and production issues, the conversation itself was surprisingly underwhelming. Much of the discussion covered very general, familiar talking points with little depth, insight or meaningful discussion of leadership, despite this being a major focus of the event’s promotion. The overall tone lacked the energy, substance and inspiration many attendees were clearly expecting. At times, the conversation was so unengaging that I found myself watching the AUSLAN interpreters instead (who, incidentally, were also never projected onto the screens) and counting the security detail dotted throughout. 

For an event of this scale, prestige and cost, the entire experience felt poorly executed and significantly below expectations.

Constant tech issues – Constant tech issues mean I cant watch the sessions I want / get the value I paid for. I've emailed customer service and there is no response.

The way they treated Aunty Joy is disgusting – Its all about Money to reject a traditional owner of Australia is disgusting all she asked for was a support person to welcome someone to the country she is 78 yrs old Shame on you !!

Waste of time and money – Company is just after money. The information can be found free or much lower rates elsewhere. No refund policy, even when they change dates, or from live events to computer viewing access. Customer service is non-existent.