KEYNOTE SPEAKER & FACILITATOR
Help people see a future worth living for. And their part in it.
A changing world asks something of all of us. My keynotes invite people to meet it with purpose, courage, and a renewed sense of what they can help create.
I'm Mentor Dida, a speaker and facilitator from Kosovo. I create spaces where people bring their whole selves, connect deeply, and find clarity together.
My speaking combines lived experience, reflection, dialogue, and a practical next step. I connect personal purpose with collective action, so a keynote with me is something your audience takes part in, not something they sit through.
Speaker · Facilitator · Global Futurist in Residence
Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures
TAKE PART
When I take the stage, I want people to feel that the future is still open, and that they have a part in shaping it. Through stories from my life and work, I invite audiences to consider who they are becoming, what they care about, and what they can contribute.
A story can help us see a possibility we had overlooked. A question can stay with us long after a talk ends.
My hope is that people leave with renewed courage, a clearer sense of what matters, and one choice they feel ready to make.
If you are planning a gathering, you may be looking for a speaker who involves the audience and gives them something practical to act on. That is the kind of experience I set out to create.
My own story shapes how I speak. Kosovo is part of it: my childhood and the people who cared for us shaped how I understand courage, community, and responsibility. Stories from changemakers around the world remind me that we can respond to difficult situations with care and initiative. In a keynote, I bring that into the room and invite people to take part.
Two talks show what that looks like.
VODAFONE ALBANIA
At Vodafone Albania, a 90-minute leadership keynote in Tirana was designed as a shared experience. Through Cross the Line and other activities, colleagues connected, moved, and explored what it means to show up fully at work. We talked about leadership as a practice of listening: to one another and to what is true in our own hearts.
LAUNCH CLUB LIVE
At Launch Club Live, I led a three-hour keynote and participatory session on the evolution of change for around 500 entrepreneurs. I designed it to engage the whole person. Participants moved their bodies, engaged their minds and emotions, reconnected with purpose, and connected with one another. We ended with a standing ovation, a moment I still hold with gratitude.
TALKS
Each theme brings a bigger question into the realities of people’s lives and work. We tailor the stories, participation, and takeaways around your audience.
01 / PERSONAL AGENCY
Who do we choose to be in a world that keeps changing?
When life moves quickly, we can find ourselves reacting, waiting, or feeling that change belongs to someone else. This talk invites people to reconnect with who they give themselves permission to be: present, caring, curious, and courageous, and to let action grow from that.
For students, emerging leaders, fellows, and people reconnecting with purpose.
More about Being the Change02 / ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
How do organizations evolve through the people within them?
Change asks people to question familiar ways of working and step toward something they cannot yet fully see. Drawing on my work with teams, this theme explores how listening, honest conversations, and shared responsibility help people become active participants in what comes next.
For leadership teams and organizations navigating transition, growth, or a new direction.
Watch the Launch Club keynote03 / BETTER GATHERINGS
What becomes possible when we care for the space between people?
Every meeting creates conditions for how people think, listen, and contribute. Explore the craft of designing those conditions: a clear purpose, thoughtful structure, genuine attention, and the judgment to respond to what emerges in the room.
For leaders, facilitators, educators, and anyone responsible for bringing people together.
04 / FUTURES & POSSIBILITY
What kind of future do we want to help create?
As technology expands what is possible, we also need to ask what makes life meaningful. Drawing on my work as Global Futurist in Residence at ASU, this talk connects innovation with human wellbeing, imagination, and our responsibility for what comes next.
For campuses, conferences, and organizations exploring AI, learning, and the future of work.
See an example from my ASU workOther conversations we can shape together
Make meetings, learning and convenings places where people contribute, connect and commit.
Good for: Leaders and event hosts seeking deeper participation.
Explore the inner, relational and practical dimensions of holding space for meaningful change.
Good for: Facilitators, educators, coaches and community builders.
Explore intrapreneurship, technology and the changing role of universities, drawing on my work as Global Futurist in Residence at ASU.
Good for: Campuses and organizations rethinking learning and innovation.
A keynote, conversation or closing synthesis shaped around your audience and the ideas emerging in the room.
Good for: Conferences, leadership gatherings and public events.
Have a different question in mind? We can also shape a talk around intrapreneurship, storytelling, the future of learning, or the ideas emerging at your event.
WORK IN ACTION · TALKS & EXPERIENCES
A few examples of how these conversations have taken shape, with entrepreneurs, educators, students, and leaders.
ASHOKA U EXCHANGE · 2019
A keynote drawing on personal stories to explore compassion, purpose, and the choices that shape how we respond to the world.
Watch the Ashoka U talkLAUNCH CLUB LIVE
Alongside the keynote, movement and reflection invited around 500 entrepreneurs to engage their minds, bodies, emotions, purpose, and connection with one another.
Watch the Launch Club talkMIAMI DADE COLLEGE
A recorded talk bringing changemaking into a conversation about education and the uncertain world learners are entering.
Watch the Miami Dade talkARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY · FEBRUARY 2025
How to Thrive as a Changemaker in a Noisy World
A session hosted by the College of Global Futures Career Services team, exploring adaptability, purpose, and meaningful work as AI reshapes careers.
View the ASU eventHOSTS
“Mentor's spellbinding stories left our audience enraptured, hanging on his every word. His wit and sagacity struck a deep chord with all in attendance. Undoubtedly, his keynote was a tour de force, and one of the most exceptional in the 10-year history of our conference.”Marina Kim, Executive Director at Ashoka U
“Mentor energized our Deloitte session with an engaging and playful facilitation style. He created a welcoming space for our busy team to pause, reflect on wellbeing, and reconnect while exploring leadership from inner, relational, and external perspectives. We left the session energized, clear-headed, and ready to take meaningful action. Highly recommended!”Shkendije Loshaj, Senior Coordinator at Deloitte
“Thank you again for taking our stage. It was a wonderful experience for our members.”Clare Day, Launch Club
WHO INVITES ME
I speak for conference organizers, association event leaders, university deans and program directors, fellowship leaders, and convening teams who want a meaningful, participatory experience.
The common thread is a gathering that needs purpose, connection, and audience participation, whether it is a conference, a fellowship program, a campus event or a company gathering.
YOUR AUDIENCE
No two rooms are the same, so no two talks are. The Journey Consulting methodology guides the design.
Before I design a keynote, I want to understand who is coming, what they are carrying, and what led you to look for a speaker now. Name the real situation, and the talk can meet it: a shared challenge, a difficult conversation, or a gathering that needs to become more than a series of sessions.
Choose the stories, questions, format, and participation that serve your audience and program. From there, we agree on the theme, the length, and how much of the time becomes participation.
Invite people to listen, reflect, connect, and explore what the ideas mean in their own lives.
Close with reflection and a meaningful next step. A closing synthesis is shaped live, from the ideas emerging in the room during your event. Agree any workshop or follow-up support with you.
WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE LEAVES WITH
People leave having experienced something together, not only heard about it.
They take away a reflection on who they want to be in their work, a sense of connection with the people around them, and a practical next step they have chosen for themselves.
A story can open space for reflection. It does not need to end with an instruction to act. The next step is theirs to name.
AFTER THE KEYNOTE
Speaking can open the conversation; workshops and longer journeys can help the organization carry it forward.
01 / VODAFONE ALBANIA
After the Vodafone keynote, the company invited me back to design a People Leaders Lab for 103 people leaders, focused on honest feedback delivered with care.
Read the Vodafone case study02 / LAUNCH CLUB
At Launch Club, it went the other way: while the team was developing its new offering, our Journey Consulting work led to an invitation to speak at Launch Club Live.
If your event is the start of something larger, we can plan what follows at the same time as the talk: a workshop, a retreat, or a longer journey.
FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS
From November 2026 through April 2027 I am not travelling, and online delivery is available throughout that period. Later travel is discussed individually.
See virtual keynotes and sessionsA keynote speaker sets the theme and tone of an event, usually in a main-stage talk the whole audience attends. In my keynotes, the talk is also an experience: people take part, connect with one another, and leave with a reflection and a practical next step of their own.
A keynote speaker carries the central theme of an event, usually for the full audience. A guest speaker typically contributes to one session or topic within it. I do both: keynotes, lectures, panels, podcasts and firesides, as well as closing syntheses that reflect what emerged during your event.
Long enough for the room to take part. Talks typically run from 30 to 120 minutes. Longer participatory experiences can also be designed. At Vodafone Albania the leadership keynote was 90 minutes; at Launch Club Live the keynote and participatory session ran three hours. We choose the length with you, based on your program and how much of the time becomes participation.
The audience does something, not only listens. At Vodafone Albania, Cross the Line and other activities had colleagues connecting, moving and exploring what it means to show up fully at work.
Depending on the context, it can include a quiet reflection, a conversation, movement, or a shared activity. The design should fit the people in the room and give them meaningful ways to take part.
I propose a fee based on the audience, preparation, format, location, and any work that follows. Every engagement is proposed on its own scope, so there is no public rate card. Share your date, goals, and budget range so we can discuss a realistic scope.
We start with a conversation about your audience, what led you to look for a speaker now, and how you describe the need. The theme, length and level of participation follow from that.
The aim is that people leave having reconnected with purpose and with one another, and with a practical next step of their own.
That is up to you. A talk can stand alone, or workshops and longer journeys can help your organization carry the conversation forward. A workshop can give people time to explore and practice what the talk opens up. We can also discuss a Lab, retreat, or longer journey if your team needs continued support. We can plan it together from the start.
Yes. Every format can run in person, online or hybrid; the travel note above has the dates. See virtual keynotes and sessions.
YOUR AUDIENCE
Tell me who is coming and what you hope they leave with.
Invite me to speakFor more about my background, meet Mentor.