Here at The Hive we’ve been busy with a really exciting trip to Pōneke where we held a workshop at the Youth leadership symposium | Mana rangatahi hui taumata. Then, hot off the press, we delivered what we heard from taiohi directly to decision-makers the next day.
As decision-makers, you know that the choices you make on one issue have flow-on effects to others. A big theme of our mahi over the last few months has been how so many of the issues we’re discussing are interconnected. Because sure, it’s always useful to categorise the information that we’re gathering, but it’s equally important to create links and patterns between these issues as well.
In this edition of The Hive Quarterly, you can check out:
You can find out more below, along with some other cool resources that help amplify taiohi voice in government decision-making. Thanks so much for buzzing with The Hive!
At our workshop during the Youth leadership symposium | Mana rangatahi hui taumata, we gathered a bunch of insights on what matters to taiohi. We wanted to make the most of a big theme in our mahi over the last few months – the fact that everything is connected – so we came up with a bit of a creative mode of delivery.
You can find out more about how we did this below, but first, here’s some top-line puzzle pieces!
“We want safe spaces to hang out in where we don’t have to spend money.”
“We want to be financially prepared for adulthood.”
“Acknowledge the broken promise. Even in curriculum, teach the truth.”
“Reduce inequalities and less poverty will reduce crime rates and reduce strain on the justice system.”
“Better health care = healthier people = better economy/society.”
“New Zealand is widely reputed as green and valued for its nature – let’s make that true?!”
We love finding creative ways to communicate. Reflecting on our time in Pōneke, one of our Season Four Hivers, Pieta, created a collage exploring what we heard from taiohi and decision-makers in our workshops.
The Youth leadership symposium | Mana rangatahi hui taumata was a day-long kaupapa organised by Te Hiringa Mahara, Mana Mokopuna, Whāraurau and Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira. It provided the opportunity for rangatahi from across the motu to gain new skills, resources and relationships to support them in making change in their communities.
At the symposium, we ran a workshop about all things The Hive, sharing our rules of engagement, tools for amplifying youth voice in government, and gathered insights which we then shared directly with decision-makers the next day.
Here’s a little bit more about our process of creating and presenting this workshop!
What did we want to find out?
The purpose of the workshop was two-fold. Firstly, we wanted to hear from taiohi what their thoughts were on the themes that came through from young people in our insight-gathering process earlier in the year.
Secondly, we wanted to provide an opportunity for our workshop attendees to share their thoughts with government decision-makers. Most importantly, we wanted to do both these things in a way that was creative and memorable.
So how did we do this?
In our fortnightly hui as a rōpū, we worked on shaping the workshop design around our theme of everything being connected. We wanted to ensure that what was presented to decision-makers felt new and inspiring. Cue the puzzle!
A puzzle?
As The Hive we created a puzzle where each piece had a different theme that we had heard was important to young people across the motu earlier in the year. In our workshop we had taiohi share their thoughts and ideas on each issue on one giant jigsaw puzzle, because every issue is interconnected.
What was the outcome?
We shared the puzzle with decision-makers in our workshop. We then gifted it to the Ministry of Youth Development, with the hope that the Minister for Youth, Matt Doocey, will get the chance to piece it all together, providing him with a very bold and colourful reminder that each of these issues are inherently linked.
The next day after our symposium, we immediately closed the loop on the insights we had gathered and shared these directly with decision-makers.
This workshop explored the role of The Hive and the very recent insights from taiohi.
We also gathered thoughts from decision-makers to understand how young people can have their voices heard in their mahi. We asked them two questions:
This was a really helpful kōrero, and it got us thinking that we’d love to ask you that question too! If you feel like offering your tips, we’d love to hear your response to the above questions to share anonymously with taiohi. Feel free to reply directly to this email with your thoughts!
In Pōneke, we also had the opportunity to meet with the Children’s Commissioner, Claire Achmad, and Tatau-Urutahi | Tino Rangatiratanga Shared Leader at the Human Rights Commission, Julia Whapooti.
We had some great conversations which helped uncover the role of independent statutory bodies and how they hold the government to account. We also got the cute pic above!
Check out the 2024 annual report from Tokona Te Raki for their Kōkirihia kaupapa. Kōkirihia is a movement looking to change the norms of school streaming to better support the needs and aspirations of rangatahi.
In this report from Mana Mokopuna, the voices of mokopuna are amplified, including their experiences of racism, and their aspiration for an Aotearoa that is free from racism. Check it out here.
Working with young people in your mahi? Don’t forget to reach out to Ara Taiohi to support you in implementing their Mana Taiohi principles.
If you’re a public sector decision-maker, we can help you engage with young people and centre their perspectives in your mahi. Whether it’s about gathering insights about what’s on top for taiohi, or gathering youth perspectives on policies or reforms, we love finding ways to support your work, and helping to ensure the voices of taiohi are front and centre.
You can find more info on the different ways we work here, and feel free to get in touch with us any time!