The call for leadership has never been greater. We need you!
2019 has been a massive year. Globally, we’ve seen political unrest and the impacts of climate change with more extreme weather events. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Christchurch attacks opened many people’s eyes to entrenched issues of discrimination and racism. He waka eke noa. We are all in this together.
Young people have the greatest stake in our future. They have a critical role to play in creating the solutions to the big issues of our time. There has never been a more important time to invest in their success, and equipping them with the skills they need to lead us into the future. The Future Leaders programme started in 2016 with a simple question – how might we make a bigger difference for young people in rural and provincial New Zealand?
This blog provides a glimpse into the impact and outcomes that the Future Leaders programme is having for young people in rural/provincial New Zealand, with the full report available for download here. This year our Future Leaders have taken out major national awards. They’ve run for local body elections. They’ve advocated for change on issues of local and national significance. Kāpiti based Future Leader, Sophie Handford, led the School Strike for Climate, mobilising more than 170,000 people to demand greater action on climate change – the second biggest civic action in New Zealand history.
We’ve worked extremely hard to grow the programme from strength-to-strength, within very real resource constraints. In its current form the Future Leaders programme is completely free for young people, and enables access to life-changing opportunities that otherwise would simply not be possible.
In the video below, Marlena – our Coach in Kawerau, shares the impact she sees the programme is making:
Marlena (in the video above), is our Coach in Kawerau – one of eight rural/provincial communities that the Future Leaders programme has run in 2019. The other communities are Ōpōtiki, Whakatāne, Kaikohe, Whangarei, Kāpiti, Palmerston North, and Greymouth. In each community, our Coaches play a critical role coordinating and delivering the programme. They are all amazing, and whilst only part-time, go above and beyond to make a difference for young people in their community.
Our Coaches support young people to explore big issues that affect their future, provide mentoring, deliver a series of skills-based workshops, and support young people to develop their ideas to make a difference through three project-based milestones throughout the year. Project-based learning supports young people to gain hands-on experience and transferable skills as they turn their ideas into reality.
As well as the local support, participants get the opportunity to engage with peers and other leaders at a national level. In 2019 this included attending two national hui, visiting Parliament, as well as attending Festival for the Future and The Impact Awards. Year-on-year young people tell us that these national engagement opportunities are some of the most valuable parts of the programme.
Below is a glimpse of the reach of the programme across the eight communities in 2019.
Hear first-hand from some of our Future Leaders
Of Fijian and Pākehā descent, Talei grew up in Waimana – a rural area in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. She’s been part of the Future Leaders programme in Whakatāne for the past two years. Talei’s growth and development during this time has been impressive. Inspired by one of the speakers at Festival for the Future, she co-founded a movement – Find Your Fish. This year spoke on the main stage at Festival sharing her journey, and ran for Council in the local body elections. She’s been a champion for youth voice, action on climate change, and was the guest speaker at the Ministry for the Environment annual awards in 2019.
Based on the Kāpiti Coast just outside of Wellington, Sophie joined Future Leaders as a Catalyst to empower other young people in her community to create change. Increasing awareness and action on climate change has been a huge driver for Sophie and the other Kāpiti Future Leaders crew, and they developed various initiatives to engage their community throughout the year as a result.
As the instigator and National Coordinator for the School Strike for Climate, Sophie helped to mobilise more than 170,000 people in what has now been called the second biggest civic action in NZ history. Sophie spoke at Festival for the Future, took out the inaugural Impact Award for Climate, and then successfully ran for Kāpiti Council in the local body elections, and is now New Zealand’s youngest Councillor in New Zealand.
Davis Kereone joined Future Leaders this year as part of the Kaikohe Community. Working part-time for Papa Taiao, Davis is passionate about protecting our native bird life and biodiversity. He’s also an outrageously talented musician and rapper, and wrote and performed this powerful piece on Radio NZ following the Christchurch Mosque Attached in March 2019. Davis performed at Festival for the Future, and as an awesome and unexpected bonus has developed connections with other talented young musicians from Greymouth, Whangarei and Kawerau with creative collaborations on the way!
Whaiora Patrick has been with the programme for two years now, and has grown both herself and her community massively during this time. In 2019 alone, Whai has stepped forward for Local Government Elections, spoken as a key-note speaker at Festival for the Future, and developed her ‘Letters of Hope’ programme to deliver maximum positive impact.
Whai believes Future Leaders is making a necessary difference in her community. This year Whai and the Kawerau Future Leaders developed 2.0 of their local ‘InSpire’ event, with key themes around the future of work and employment, and mental health and wellbeing.
Shaquille Shortland is the founder of Tūāpapa Language Academy & Consultancy, paving the way forward for Te Reo use in the public sector. Shaq served as a catalyst this year, acting as a positive role model and leading by example through actions such as running for council.
Through Future Leaders, Shaq has helped to develop a project to build a community garden and educate people about sustainable resourcing, following the process from planting the seeds to creating the product, for example Kawakawa balm. Shaq believes that this combination will bring people together while connecting them with a purpose
To our funders and supporters who have helped to enable this – thank you. Getting new things off the ground is always risky. Each of our funders and supporters have played a critical role supporting our work, and enabling access to opportunities for rangatahi. If you would like to learn more about Future Leaders, and how you can support – would love to invite you to become a champion.
Become a Champion – help support Future Leaders
Your generosity and support can play a critical role to make a difference for young New Zealanders by supporting the Future Leaders programme. With your help, we can increase investment into our Coaches, strengthen pathways and support for young people, and expand Future Leaders to new communities. This could be by helping to open doors, making introductions to others who can help, or through funding or sponsorship. Download the 2019 Report, and learn more about how you can become a champion.
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