Hosting a panel event for young leaders. The Y run a programme called the Y25 where we each year the Y25 programme brings together 25 of our rising trailblazers – they are doers, makers, shakers, change-makers and community leaders doing incredible things to wake up and change their world. They may have just started out or already be kicking goals, but wherever they are on the journey we connect and celebrate them. Part of that is amplifying their stories and providing support for our young leaders that is sustainable and cup filling.
For youth week, we are wanting to host a panel that includes three of our 2022 cohort (aged 15-24) and facilitated by a Y25 2021 alumni:
Their bio's include –
Speaker 1: Nele Kalolo is all about achieving equitable opportunities and outcomes for Māori & Pasifika in Aotearoa. Her work predominantly focuses on guiding and advocating for Māori and Pasifika youth. From being an organiser for the 2020 Empowerment Festival & March to becoming a FORMAT mentor for Southseas Healthcare, Nele creates safe spaces for youth. As an ADHB Rangatahi Cadet and Pasifika representative for PHARMAC, she creates pathways for young people to contribute toward achieving equitable health outcomes. Nele is currently setting up a social enterprise 'WaiLagi Ltd', which will ensure ancestral knowledge is held and nurtured in all spaces by guiding Pasifika to navigate social issues & mental health using indigenous practices.
Speaker 2: Rana Arif – Being interested in people, and how they think and interact, led Rana Arif to work on multiple projects including Te Tiriti in our Language pilot, the Waikato Rangatahi Opportunity and ongoing work with the Refugee Orientation Centre. An NZ-born Middle Eastern wāhine with whakapapa back to Iraq & Syria, Rana lived in the United Arab Emirates for 14 years, before moving home to complete high school and uni where she graduated with a double major in Human Development and Human Resources. She is passionate about community & youth development, especially in relation to empowering ethnic rangatahi. She has previously connected year 12-13 students with civics education providing the opportunity for young people to engage and explore civics and politics in a non-judgmental space.
Speaker 3: Te Rina West – They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this definitely rings true for Te Rina West who grew up sheltered in the bosom of her iwi, Te Arawa. From a young age, she represented her hometown, Rotorua, and Aotearoa in basketball. She was also an active member of her community through Manu Korero, Kapa Haka, and as the ‘Face of Rotorua’. Te Rina has volunteered with many charities including Plunket, Women’s Refuge, KidsCan, FoodBank, Heart Foundation and Sunset Breakfast Club. She is a past senior ambassador of the Rotorua Lakes Youth Council and the Rotorua Youth Voice which facilitated the Future Leaders Forum and the community Glo-walk at the Redwoods. Giving back to her people is an intrinsic response to all those who have supported her throughout the years.
Facilitator: Latayvia Tualasea Tautai – is a 2nd generation Aotearoa-born Samoan. At 24, she is the 2022 Prime Ministers Pacific Youth award winner for leadership and inspiration. As well as the 2018 recipient of the New Zealand Youth Award for leadership. She is currently a Senior Associate at the YWCA Auckland. She previously delivered financial literacy workshops in South Auckland High Schools, led an Auckland-wide initiative to collect stationery for wāhine in prison and is currently on the board for Womens Health Action Auckland. She is an amalgamation of her grandparent's migrant dream, the collective prayers of her village and the resilience of a single mum on the benefit.
This talanoa session will also provide kai and discussions around what it means to navigate spaces that don't look like us, how we define wellbeing, how we practice self-care + community care side by side – what it means to be young, brown and
'excellent' – the challenges, pressures and social mobility + privilege aspects. Plus discussing what it means to be part of the Y25 collective.
We are also approaching mental health services providers such as Le Vā, I am hope and youth line if they'd like to have a stall and share their resources