Think Fest 2017 will launch this weekend featuring a presentation by a young Bermudian writer.

Growing in the Home by Yesha Townsend will kick off the event designed to “celebrate and acknowledge Bermudian academics and independent thinkers”, and which aims to provide the opportunity for both professional and social networking.

Ms Townsend’s interactive presentation will examine the “meaning and impact of ‘home’”, according to the event’s website.

The first talk takes place at World Heritage Centre Theatre on Sunday at 3pm.

Think Fest 2017 will feature more than a dozen participants tackling topics including cancer research, race, media, and much more.

“While the topics will vary widely, the presenters have a single commonality — they are all Bermudians and all outstanding in their fields,” a media release said.

Ayo Johnson, of Think Media, said that the main purpose of the festival was to “foster a community of Bermudian academics and independent thinkers, while modelling a path for our younger citizens”.

“We want to bring a focus to the incredible work our people are doing here and around the world, while providing a platform for networking with potential employers, funders and others deep research or original work,” he said.

The first session will have refreshments provided by African Kitchen.

Persons and organisations interested in obtaining more information — including a list of other participants — can visit https://think.bm.