Multiethnic Young Leaders NZ (MYLN) launches the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database (RLOD), the country’s first free, single-source, open-access database that provides crowdsourced information on all youth leadership opportunities available to young people under 35 in Aotearoa New Zealand during Youth Week 2022.
Whether it’s becoming a youth MP, joining a youth advisory panel, or partaking in youth leadership conferences locally or abroad, the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database seeks to level the playing field by making access to information on youth leadership more transparent, fair, and equitable for all young people.
MYLN Chair and interim-GM Michelle Huang notes that diverse leadership across all sectors and at every level of society is important to making Aotearoa more inclusive and fair.
“Every young person should have the opportunity to reach their full leadership potential. To achieve this, we need all youth to have equal access to leadership opportunities that can grow their confidence, unlock their leadership potential, and increase their “merit.””
Right now, Māori, Pacific and ethnic youth from lower decile schools, in particular, are missing out on youth leadership opportunities.
“Lack of transparency is a key barrier to participating in leadership. And we’re here to change that.”
The current “opportunity divide” further excludes young people from already disadvantaged communities from “getting their foot in the door” when joining the leadership pipeline.
To address and balance out some of these inequities, the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database also offers financial support to eligible students from Decile 1-3 schools.
This project, which has received multi-year funding from the Tindall Foundation, is a volunteer-led and volunteer-powered initiative. The Project Lead for the Database is Marie Ysabel Landingin, a MYLN Member who has volunteered over 100 hours over the past year to serve this kaupapa.
According to Marie, “the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database (RLOD) has been designed to involve and be collectively owned by the wider community. Removing barriers to access for all young people in Aotearoa is a shared responsibility that requires everyone to take part. The RLOD thrives on the collective engagement and contribution of every individual. We therefore welcome and encourage anyone and everyone to visit the RLOD, to sign up and join our online RLOD community, and to browse or add to the existing opportunities on the RLOD.”
