GenZ Aotearoa Hosts Inaugural National Youth Organisation Hui

GenZ Aotearoa (GZA) recently hosted its inaugural National Youth Organisation Hui in Pōneke, bringing together youth leaders from across the motu to strengthen connections and reimagine the future of advocacy.

Founded in January 2024 following the election of the current government, GZA emerged to help mitigate resultant feelings of disillusionment and voicelessness among Aotearoa’s rangatahi.

Since then, GZA’s focus has evolved from resistance to regeneration. Their mahi falls under three main goals; rebuilding cross-sector relationships, amplifying rangatahi voices, and building long-term infrastructure. 

The National Youth Organisation Hui set out to lay the groundwork for the development of this infrastructure. Lola Fisher, co-founder of GenZ Aotearoa, described the motivation behind the event:

“The NYOH came from a gap that kept showing up to us in many different ways. 

“We saw that so many young people and their youth organisations across Aotearoa are doing powerful and necessary work, but often in isolation, without shared infrastructure or connection.

“Over time that same isolation becomes a missed opportunity to build a way forward that is stronger together. 

“Our hui was about responding to that, trying to create space to start designing a more sustainable way of working across the sector.”

As the first event of its kind in Aotearoa, the hui brought together 50 attendees representing a diverse range of youth-led organizations. It aimed to equip young advocates with practical skills, facilitate the development of a framework for the future, and—above all—foster community. 

Over the three days, participants heard from 16 speakers with lived-experience in youth advocacy. Discussions spanned governance essentials, effective allyship, and navigating funding.

Emcees Leila Foster and Daniel Kumar also facilitated seven hours of collaborative workshops, focusing on identifying key problems in the sector and ideating a collaborative, resourced future for youth organisations in Aoteatora. In these sessions, attendees recorded their ideas and first-hand experiences across metres of butcher's paper.

GZA will use these contributions to develop a four-year strategic roadmap. Plans are also underway to establish a digital collaborative network to share knowledge and strengthen connections between organizations. 

NYOH attendee Mia Maria, a Youth Decision Maker at Zeal Wellington, reflected on the impact of the workshops, noting her excitement to shift away from a scarcity mindset:  

“Regardless of a constant lack of funding, or other external support, real community looks like choosing now to focus on what we do have, and how we can share that—whether it be skills, knowledge or tangible resources—with each other to make ends meet in times of need. This is how we as a collective can succeed despite the odds.” 

Fisher is equally hopeful for Aotearoa’s youth advocacy sector, envisioning “a future where this work doesn’t have to start from scratch every time. I want to see knowledge carried forward and see a shift from isolation to interdependence on one another."

Maria echoes this sentiment: “It’s exciting to think these are structures that future generations will inherit, rather than the unsustainable structures that consistently lead to burn out…”

You can keep updated with GenZ Aotearoa’s mahi at @genzaotearoa on Instagram, or learn more about their kaupapa at genzaotearoa.org