Tula’i Ngāue Summit 2026
On Monday 30th March, we officially launched this year's Tula'I Ngāue Pasifika Youth Leadership Programme with our 14th annual Summit Day! The Summit marks the first day of our young people’s 15-week leadership journey. It centres around the Identity of Pasifika in Aotearoa – Knowing Who We Are to Serve with Purpose.
We were honoured to host Green Bay High School, Henderson High School, Kelston Boys High School, Kelston Girls College, Liston College, Massey High School, Rutherford College, St Dominics College and Waitakere College. We had 71 Year 12 and 13 Pasifika secondary students attend, marking the biggest turnout to date. The room was filled with shy but keen young people, curious to see where Tula'i will take them. The energy in the space was undeniable, where connections began to form between students, our leaders, and supporters.
Our audience were honoured to have award-winning Pacific storyteller, multimedia journalist, former Head Boy for Avondale and a 2017 graduate for Tula'i - Matt Manukuo - as our guest speaker. Matt shared an inspiring story focussing on his journey with health, identity and resilience.
As Tula'i empowers Pasifika to lead, our Tuakana youth leaders led the rest of the day with engaging ice breakers and a workshop. The key question "What is a Positive Pacific Young Person?" enabled our young to people to critically think about the identities of Pasifika in Aotearoa, and how it empowers them as young leaders. Our Tuakana engaged with our young people using engagement tactics and activities to keep the cohort focussed and entertained. It was inspiring to see our Tuakana - past students of the programme - give back to the kaupapa that helped shape their leadership journey.
The Summit Day ended with performances highlighting ‘Positive traits of Identity’, linking it to their cultural identities and day to day lives. It was a time of celebration for Pasifika diversity, spiritual connection, and a display of brown excellence and talent.
Meitaki ma’ata to our Schools and Staff for transporting our young people to the event, and your deep care and love for them. It was a privilege to be able to provide space for you to connect, and to hear your hearts for this generation. We look forward to continuing to work together!
Malo ‘aupito to Katalina Ma and Siulolo Fusitu’a from UoA for providing a session to support Pasifika transitions to University with our Teachers!
Malo 'aupito to our sponsors for contributing to our gift bags for our new cohort of leaders: Sanitarium, The Fono, Le Vā, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Vaka Tautua, and Random Graphix.
Fa’afetai tele lava to our General Manager Tanya and the Tula’I staff for organising this launch; our energetic and creative Faiako Arts Adi for being our MC; our Social Media Tusitala Faith for capturing the day; and Vaitofiga, our Tuakana and Tula’i Ngāue lead, for facilitating an exceptional experience for our young people. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to our mentors Drewzilla, Victor, Jemiah, and Kyani for supporting our leaders. Finally, fa’afetai tele lava to our Tuakana Vaka — Elijah, Tep, Tiana, Sita, Ben, AJ, Jasmine, Vise, Kiki, Niko, Thoramei, Maua, and Etu — for leading our new cohort into their leadership journey.
