7 Pasifika Women make the Y25 List
7 Pasifika women have made the Y25, a list of 25 extraordinary women under the age of 25.
Each year the YWCA Aotearoa puts together a list of Y25 rising trailblazers. The YWCA looks for young women who are raising their voices, . The Y25 are doers, makers, shakers, change-makers and community leaders doing incredible things to change their world.
This year the Y25 list has environmental activists, STEM champions, community advocates, rainbow warriors, innovative entrepreneurs, and more. Amongst this list of passionate and talented young women are 7 young leaders from the Pasifika community.
These young Pasifika women are empowered, motivated and ready to change the world.
Introducing the 7 Pasifika women on the Y25…
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Latayvia Tualasea Tautai, 22
Pasifika Advocate & financial advisor
Latayvia is a champion for equality, uplifting the voices of those most marginalised. She is studying towards a conjoint degree BA/LLB and works part time at Fonua Ola, a Pacific social service. As a financial mentor, Latayvia also does WINZ advocacy, delivers financial literacy courses, food parcel support and anything needed. Latayvia does this out of empathy and passion for serving children who grew up in the same hardship she did. When Latayvia was young, family violence forced her whānau into a women's refuge and they faced housing insecurity throughout her life.From being raised by a single parent on the benefit, to being part of the government's welfare expert advisory group, her volunteer work and currently advocating on the frontline for Pacific families in poverty, Latayvia feels incredibly grateful for the opportunities she's had and strives to live her life in the service of her community.
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Ruby Macomber, 19
Creative Writer working in Prisons
Ruby’s passion for storytelling comes from years of navigating her Rotuman/Polynesian and Pālagi identities. Through Te Kāhui, she facilitates regular creative writing workshops with rāngatahi Māori and Pasifika at Mt Eden Correctional Facility and for her community. She empowers the personal expression and stories of young inmates and emphasises accessible arts opportunities. Ruby sees creative writing “as a vessel for promoting personal and social change”.
Ruby is published in the University of Auckland 'Kate Magazine', a university-wide feminist-focused publication. Her poem 'You ask me why this land bleeds' addresses period shame and intergenerational storytelling. Ruby’s poems also feature in Starling, Signals, & Awa Wāhine, New Zealand Young Writers' Festival (2019) and Youth Arts New Zealand 'Young At Art' (2021).
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Vaiola Tauti, 22
Regional President of UN Youth NZ
A proud New Zealand born Sāmoan raised from the 274 (Otara), she is the first Pacific/Sāmoan Regional President in UN Youth NZ. Currently studying Global Studies at the University of Auckland, she is passionate about civics education and human rights. She also sits on the 2021 NZ-US Embassy Youth Council.
In her time with UN Youth NZ, Vaiola has held various roles within this organisation with her current one being the Auckland Regional President for 2021, where she has introduced high school students to civics, ensured Māori and Pasifika rangatahi voices were being amplified and were empowered to become active citizens in their communities. Now she is making a big effort to make the organisation more inclusive structurally and interpersonally. “Educating people about their unconscious bias can be draining especially when you're not speaking about things as separate statistics - they are actually your lived experiences”.
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Brianna Fruean, 22
Climate Activist
Brianna is a strong Tama'ita'i Samoan who speaks up for her island and fights on the frontline of Climate Change. Her work’s been shown nationally and internationally and she’s known as a representative of her country. At age 11, Brianna became one of the founding members of 350. Samoa and Leader of Environmental Group Future Rush. Since then she’s travelled extensively as a Pacific Youth Ambassador, attending UNEP in Korea & Japan, the Rio+Summit, COP23 in Germany where she gave a keynote address, in 2018 touring Europe sharing stories of the Pacific and the importance of climate action with church groups, primary & secondary schools, and even met the Pope. Plus she attended COP25 High-Level Plenary Session on “Climate Emergency” alongside Greta Thunberg in Madrid. At 16, Brianna became the youngest winner of the Commonwealth Youth Award, meeting with the Queen to discuss her environmental efforts in the region.
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Selu-Kian Faletoese, 20
LGBTQ+ & MVPFAFF Pasifika + Māori Advocate
Selu-Kian has always had a passion for youth and community work. A proud Samoan, she is in her final year of a Bachelor of Communication Studies at AUT majoring in T.V. & Screen Production. Her love of engaging with individuals from all walks of life and the desire to connect with her ancestor’s innate abilities of storytelling and oratory has fueled her passion for writing and film. With the Village Collective she works as a member of the Rainbow Fale Youth Advisory Group that specifically focuses at empowering, supporting and creating spaces for Māori and Pasifika LGBTQIA+ and MVPFAFF youth. Working as a Research Assistant for Point & Associates, she helped collate information and data for a Case Study report on Impacts of COVID-19 for takatāpui, queer, gender diverse and intersex young people. “It was in these roles that truly affirmed the passion that I have for advocating for communities that are marginalised and overlooked.”
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Talei Bryant, 24
Co-founder Find Your Fish
Hailing from Fiji and raised in Waimana, Talei is one of the many pou based in the Eastern Bay of Plenty who advocates and strives to uplift rangatahi from all walks of life. She has immersed herself in her community and strives to empower young people, especially wāhine, from all over Aotearoa, taking on many roles within different youth development kaupapa and even co-founded her own - Find your Fish, an entrepreneurial youth movement encouraging growth and empowering rangatahi to pursue their dreams. Talei also volunteers with Whakatane Youth Council as chairperson, is a coach for the Whakatane Future Leaders programme and coaches volleyball for Whakatane High School. Talei has spoken out against sexual abuse within whānau which means so much to young Polynesian women everywhere. She is a vital, safe space for young women to reach out to. She contributes towards many meaningful and impactful kaupapa across the Eastern Bay.
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Harleen Rangi Singh, 19
Youth Leader
Inspired at a young age, Harleen accompanied her grandmother, a nurse, to hospitals every time her family visited Samoa, igniting her love for medicine and the dream to become a doctor. She is half Samoan and half Indian and is proud of both her cultures, which have enabled her to engage more with her community. While working towards that goal, Harleen has focused on working with projects that improve her community's overall health. Harleen is a Pacific Youth Navigator for the SouthSeas Healthcare Bubblegum Project and volunteers for Edmund Rice Camps. She has planned events and designed workshops for the MYSTORY Mentoring program for students in South Auckland. She is also a Resident Adviser at an UoA first year halls of residence, overseeing a floor with 40 young women. Growing up in South Auckland, she loves hearing stories of those in her community and mobilising them to achieve success.