At yLead we believe leadership is action. When a leader takes action and positively impacts the world around them, they create a legacy.
In 2012 a legacy began for three young men from Rotorua Boys High School. After attending the Australian Student Leadership Conference in Brisbane, they had an idea to bring the experience to New Zealand. In October 2012, the first Rangatira conference took place at Rotorua Boys High School with schools from across the North Island of New Zealand in attendance. And now, six years on, the impact continues to grow.
“What an amazing journey it has been. For me it has been a special opportunity to attend all six conferences. In this time I have seen extreme growth in not only the tauira/participants, but also in our NZ yTeam mentors, now being able to have a full kiwi team of volunteers. Six years have passed and all I can say is that I’m thankful – for being able to attend the conference in Brisbane, for yLead coming to NZ, and to all the participants and mentors who continually make this dream a reality.” – Liam Hae Hae: original conference member
‘Rangatira’ – comprised of two Maori words:
Raranga – To weave
Tira – A group of people
Rangatira unites and weaves together young people from different schools, backgrounds, and experiences to empower them with the necessary tools to be the best version of themselves, both as a leader and as a person. 2017 saw the participants grow, make connections, and encourage one another to be themselves and achieve success. There was an un-paralleled level of friendship, care and appreciation amongst the students and mentor team.
“yLead Rangatira is a very special experience in the form of a three day conference. The conference is jam-packed with unique activities, inspirational stories and is full of welcoming and vibrant mentors and students!” – Mikey Tetley: participant 2016, mentor 2017
“The conference goes beyond just ‘learning’ about leadership, it challenges its participants and mentors as leaders, learners, teammates and problem solvers.” – Christian Baledrokadroka: participant 2015, mentor 2017
Such a conference is created through the dedication and hard work of all those involved. Special thanks go to the guest speakers Rowie McEvoy and Noa Woolloff for sharing their knowledge and experiences.
A huge shout out to the mentor team for being their authentic, welcoming and energetic selves. Without this dedicated team of volunteers the conference would not be able to run so smoothly!
