Thai-Riffic: Realizing Your Dreams – Mind & Its Potential 2013

Oliver wanted to be a dinosaur when he was young, he had ADD, and he started reading about dinosaurs. He wrote his dinosaur’s stories, with graphic details of eating fellow classmates. That got him a trip to the school counsellor. His teacher at school encouraged him to write because that kept him quiet.

He is now a teacher, thinking that it would be a relaxing job, but finds it emotionally draining. Given that both he and his students have short attention spans, he came up with all these activities to keep all occupied and to encourage the kids to imagine and write.

His first book, Thai-riffic, is about how our family are often embarrassing and he shares his funny and inspiring stories of becoming a writer. I got lost in the jokes and so have to leave this report here.

We have travelled far today, from the Barefoot College in India to Indigenous Australian communities. We have been touched by the transformational power of music, dipped into mindfulness, moved our bodies and considered mental health/fitness.

And, this brings us to the end of Mind & Its Potential Conference 2013, though our post-conference workshops are on tomorrow. I wish all a safe journey home, with a rich harvest of ideas and experiences to bring with you, and hope to see you again at our next conference.


Oliver Phommavanh loves to make people laugh, whether it’s on the page as a critically-acclaimed author for kids or on stage as a stand-up comedian. Oliver has appeared on national TV and radio, as well as performing at various writers and arts festivals across Australia. He also shares his passion for writing as a teacher. Oliver’s books include Thai-riffic!, Con-nerd, Punchlines and Thai-no-mite.


Live from the Mind & Its Potential Conference 2013