Kickstarting the year for young leaders
Young leaders from a wide range of cultural backgrounds gathered at AUT last week for Ko Wai Tātou, an event hosted by Multiethnic Young Leaders New Zealand and supported by AUT.
Held on AUT’s City Campus, the evening brought together around 50 attendees and several youth speakers who shared their experiences, challenges and hopes for the year ahead.
The gathering helped emerging professionals and students begin the academic year with reflection and purpose, strengthening connections across diverse communities.
Michelle Huang, Chair and interim General Manager of Multiethnic Young Leaders New Zealand and a member of the AUT Council, says the event offered a powerful start to 2026.
“It was an incredibly powerful evening, and we are grateful to AUT for providing shared spaces where young leaders can listen, share and connect,” she says.
“Storytelling has long been a way that wisdom is passed between tuakana and teina, and beginning the year through these honest conversations felt meaningful.”
Ko Wai Tātou is a free, community centred initiative that supports young people to explore identity, leadership and belonging. The event also encourages rangatahi to recognise the strength in their cultural identity and lived experience, and how these shape their leadership journeys.
AUT Assistant Vice-Chancellor Engagement, Amy Malcolm, says AUT’s support reflects its commitment to being a university of opportunity.
“AUT is one of the most diverse universities in Aotearoa, and that diversity reflects the richness of Tāmaki Makaurau,” she says.
“Events like Ko Wai Tātou create space for authentic experiences to be shared openly, and for young people to feel seen and valued. These conversations matter, and they strengthen our commitment to supporting diverse communities and future leaders.”
AUT alumnus Taylor Tutawa McLaren says returning to contribute to a kaupapa centred on connection and belonging was a privilege.
“I was so thrilled to return to campus and share some of my experiences since graduating. My main wish was to acknowledge the importance of community and how being unapologetically Māori has helped me in my professional and personal life,” she says.
“It was a privilege to connect with current AUT students and alumni, and to build connections that will carry forward past this event. My warm thanks to the MYLN crew and AUT for giving me the opportunity to participate.”
Fellow alumnus, Max Rattagan, who came to AUT as an international student, says returning for Ko Wai Tātou was a moment of reflection.
“My journey started at AUT, and when my time there ended, I knew I would return one day. Being back brings not only memories, but also a reflection on how my journey began, I see my younger self in the next generation,” he says.
“Remember to find your why, hold on to it when things get hard, and one day you will look back and say to yourself, it was hard, but I made it.”
Multiethnic Young Leaders New Zealand is a national charity dedicated to strengthening social cohesion and championing ethnic and intersectional diversity in leadership. The organisation’s mission is to build Aotearoa’s pipeline of diverse, inclusive and purpose driven future leaders across business, government and community sectors.
“Events like Ko Wai Tātou create space for authentic experiences to be shared openly, and for young people to feel seen and valued.
These conversations matter, because they help our communities connect and they support the kind of leaders Aotearoa needs and that AUT supports,” says Amy.