Yana Kirakovskaya is a Russian Kiwi who found her second home in Aotearoa in 2011. She has 10+ years’ experience of executing projects both big and small under the umbrella of creative agencies, such as Ogilvy and Leo Burnett. She has a profound background in digital media, content, PR and events marketing. Her primary focus has always remained on meaningful, interactive and creative campaigns, activations and events.
Finding her place in New Zealand led to the most significant transformation in her personal life and career choices. Little by little she revealed her true passion in life – helping people to learn what it means to be a human being and feel alive. She is inspired by the power of the human transformation where the key part lies in the interconnection of mind, body and soul. Yana founded Papaya Stories in 2014 as a platform to talk about mental and spiritual health, to understand the meaning of self-acceptance, self-love and to inspire people to follow their dreams. Papaya Stories promotes the positive social change within the community in New Zealand and around the world.
Yana is an Experience Creator and organiser of the Silent Disco Citywalk®. She is an inspiring speaker and a mental and spiritual health advocate who stands for authenticity, diversity, human connection, growth and wellbeing. In her work, she explores the interrelation between community engagement and social wellbeing and sees the relationship between arts, culture and mental health. Getting inspiration from neuropsychology, Eastern philosophy, as well as her own therapeutic insights and people’s stories, she shares her story to inspire everyone to find more joy, creativity and inspiration in their lives.
Contact Yana via email to inquire about her involvement as the speaker / MC at your event, seminar or conference.
Event themes:
– Personal Evolution: Moving from Fear to Love
– You are Not a Programme: Overcome your Old Self and Achieve your Dreams
– Let’s Heal. Get Real
– When Cliché Rules the World. Live in the Moment. Is it Possible?
– Placemaking and Community Engagement to Improve Mental Health
– Why Joy Matters in City Economics
– Diversity acceptance as the Gateway to a Healthy, Sustainable and Happy Society
Yana is a warm, clever and incredibly competent speaker. With Yana, you get important content, delivered via an incredible performance, as she has a knack for telling stories in a compelling and magic way. Yana has a spark, and she will most definitely brighten what could be a very dull event without her. – Emma McInnes, Founder of Women in Urbanism
She kindly spoke at the first Henderson Eco-Centre Speakers Series event and was a great opening speaker who was keen to welcome people and meet people and take them on her journey through Papaya Stories. Thanks Yana for a great introductory speech. – Richard Davison, Panuku Development
Her passion for storytelling shone through, and I found her to be an extremely engaging speaker. She’s the kind of person to draw even the quietest soul out of their shell with bold new ideas and ways of connecting. – Sophie, Women in Urbanism
Contact Yana via email to inquire about her involvement as the speaker / MC at your event, seminar or conference.
