Now in its seventh year, twenty-five changemakers gathered at a launch gala in Tāmaki Makaurau on the 21st of August. And, because Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka is the best of the best, five of those changemakers hailed from Otago. Critic Te Ārohi was lucky enough to reflect on the experience with Y25er’s Farwa Nabizada and Tunmise Adebowale.
Selected from over 165 nominations, the wānanga celebrated young women and gender diverse people aged 15 to 25 who are leading with courage, creativity and purpose. Developed by YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau, the programme recognises go-getters who are challenging inequity, reimagining systems and building stronger communities. Changemakers come from all over the motū, representing areas of advocacy, artistry, entrepreneurship, medicine, STEM and leadership.
Nigerian-born and South African-raised New Zealander Tunmise Adebowale is 20 years old, studying Politics and Spanish. She came to Dunedin in 2017, and if you’re into anything creative, you might’ve bumped into her already. Tunmise is a seriously amazing writer and the Editor-in-Chief of her prodigy brainchild, The Art Lens – a literary magazine and podcast that uplifts young writers and artists. She oozes confidence, making juggling studies, reading, writing and taking 20 minutes to entertain Critic look easy. “I feel kind of embarrassed, because I always try to think ‘do I have any alternative skills I can present?’”, she admits. “I’m like, ‘nope’. It’s just writing. That’s my jam.”
Reflecting on the Y25 wānanga, Tunmise described herself as “skeptical” heading in, but that was something that quickly faded. “This cohort was amazing. It was very well organised,” she said, explaining how there were guest speakers and a stacked programme. They worked through how they could become the leaders of tomorrow, as well as having time to sit down and reflect the pressures that being a changemaker can present, such as burnout. “Because of the way it’s structured, you’ll end up talking to so many people. I was sad to be leaving,” she said.
Tunmise picked up pen and paper at a young age, but didn’t always love it. “When I was in South Africa, I hated reading because I viewed it as punishment,” she laughed. It was only once she came to New Zealand and started reading a few new things that she got into reading, and then started breaking into writing. “That’s one thing that doesn’t seem to differ between writers,” she said. “If you’re gonna write, you’re most likely going to read.” She began writing at the age of 13 or 15, writing mostly “la-dee-da” stuff. Eventually, a teacher approached her about submitting some of her work for publication, and Tunmise agreed. Once that happened, the rest was history. “It was just read and write, read and write [...] Along the way, I started taking writing courses online to target specific skills I really wanted, especially techniques.” Nowadays, her writing explores the connections between belonging, cultural memory, and place.
Tunmise’s trophy cabinet is undoubtedly running out of room, being published in heaps of different publications including The Spinoff and Newsroom. Her work has been recognised through multiple awards, including first place in the Sargeson Prize (Secondary School Division, 2023) and the Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook Student Poetry Competition (2023), among others. But don’t feel intimidated – Tunmise wants people to know that writing is for everyone, no matter where you’re at in your journey. That’s a big reason why she started her publication, The Art Lens, in the first place. “I really wanted to help young writers, especially after having hung around the writing space myself and seeing how things can be a bit elitist at times, or a bit guarded,” she explained. “I just feel there’s not a lot of guidance for young people. When you come into these formal spaces, it can feel quite intimidating – but I want people to know it’s really not.”
Through conversation with Tunmise, you’ll quickly realise how much of a natural leader she is. When chatting about her choice of a Spanish degree, she reflected on how she had a fantastic Spanish teacher back in high school that set her up to love the language. “I think the influence of a teacher can really impact whether you continue with a subject,” she shared. She didn’t have a great relationship with her English teacher, which was at odds with her clear ability to write. Perhaps that is what set her up to be independent and create space for herself within the literary scene, and go on to mentor others within it.
Before hanging up the phone to give Farwa a bell, Critic asked Tunmise what advice she’d give her younger self. “There’s so much,” she admitted, before landing on something. “I would tell her not to listen to what others say,” she said. “Not what people say, or what people may think of you. Know your own stuff,” she explained. Wise words from a wise woman.
Our next changemaker is described as a Refugee Champion and Gender Equality Advocate on her Y25 profile. Farwa Nabizada is 21 years old, proudly from Afghanistan, and in her second year of studies working toward a Bachelor of Laws and Computer Science. She came to Aotearoa in 2021 after spending four years in Malaysia as a refugee. She spent four months in Auckland before resettling in Dunedin. Today, that lived experience has shaped much of her mahi. She spends her time supporting Afghan women and former refugees, volunteering as a Dari/Persian interpreter, working with Community Law Otago and acting as treasurer of the Dunedin Hazara Association. If you weren’t feeling wowed yet, she also speaks three languages.
She’s the second daughter in a family of five siblings, and her mum and dad’s biggest fan – insisting on giving them all a massive shout out in our interview. “They’re my ultimate inspiration [...] I look up to everyone in my family,” she explained. Critic was more than happy to oblige – so shoutout to Farwa’s beautiful sister, for supporting and believing in her, and Farwa’s amazing brothers, who are “just so passionate” in life and inspire her to give one hundred percent to all of her goals. They’re a pretty amazing bunch: Farwa’s mum was denied an education as a woman during the war in Afghanistan, but this didn’t stop her or Farwa’s dad from making sure their children had access to opportunities that they never did.
“It inspires me so much, just to work hard and push myself to achieve my goals [...] My mum always tells me that it’s never too late to do anything,” Farwa shared. Witnessing the ongoing struggle women face against the Taliban in Afghanistan is “heartbreaking” to Farwa, and something she described as “history repeating itself” when reflecting on her mother’s journey. However, it’s something that also drives her forward. “With the privileges I have been given, I really want to make something of it [...] The opportunities I have been given go two ways. It pushes me to speak up for Afghan women, and what is happening in Afghanistan right now.” And here Farwa is – using her voice to speak for the women who cannot. “What I can do is spread awareness, and never let governments like the Taliban oppress women like that, and their voices. I think that is my future, in that area.”
Explaining her course of study, Farwa always knew she wanted to study something in humanities. “Anything where I can work closely with people and engage with human rights,” she explained. As a refugee, she’s seen first-hand how refugees have their rights exploited: a lack of access to education, healthcare, unfamiliarity with laws and the constant fear of arrest. “I want to know how the systems are working, and support my family and other refugees,” she explained, referencing her choice of a Law degree. When considering her Computer Science degree, Farwa explained growing up in Afghanistan exposed her to the lack of encouragement women get to “go and learn about technology” or do anything technology related. “It’s very male dominated, even right now,” she admitted. As such, she always knew that she wanted to learn everything there was to know about tech – even though the first time Farwa owned a laptop was in year 12 when she arrived in Aotearoa. It was then that she was exposed to a little bit of coding, and she decided to keep pursuing it.
Reflecting on the Y25 wānanga, Farwa struggled with the words to describe her experience. “It was just amazing,” she gushed. “Meeting the other Y25, amazing human beings, was just awesome. It was just such an inspiring experience, hearing everyone's story and what they’re passionate about and why they want to make a difference,” she shared. While Farwa didn’t get to meet everyone, she recalls sitting down at night with her cohort and talking for hours about their different experiences and perspectives. “You just learn people’s perspective and how they look at things, and how differently they take in the topics we were talking about,” Farwa reflected, noting the similarity in their passions and goals. It was a weekend of refusing to shy away from hard topics, like how to set boundaries and or being confident in speaking up. “Even just over those three days, I feel like I can see a change in myself [...] It helped me so much to be comfortable in myself, in my own voice and identity.” She looks forward to the ongoing relationship she’ll have with the Y25 programme, and the connections she made.
When asked about the advice she might give her younger self, Farwa would tell her to “stress less” and be “gentler” with herself. “She was an anxious girl, and worried about things that weren’t even her business to be worried about,” she admitted. She was plagued with thoughts of whether she was doing enough, or too much, or where she would end up. Would she be in university at some point? Where could she be in a year? “‘Cause as a refugee in Malaysia, you always live with this uncertainty [...] You are not sure about your future – at all. But I am so fortunate, I’m lucky that it all worked out [...] I have an amazing community.” While hindsight is 20/20, Farwa wished that she knew that she didn’t need to have it all figured out. “Life has a way of opening doors,” she said. “And sometimes, I think the things you worry about the most end up becoming really good experiences that will shape you in the future [...] Things will get better with time.”
Overall, the amazing Y25er’s definitely deserve their kudos. A big shoutout to the other recipients: Jade Nomani (Youth and Social Justice Activist), Māia Lockyer (Hauora Māori Researcher and Medical Student) and Elsie Polosovai (Creative, Advocate and Solomon Islands Cultural Ambassador). Thanks for making the world a better, brighter and bolder place.
