Mō Āpōpō Future-Makers
Mō Āpōpō Future-Makers
Recent research tells us that nearly two-thirds of young women (aged 16-24) in Aotearoa are worried about the future, along with 42 percent of young men. Despite this, the research also shows that rangatahi still believe they can make our country a better place. This sense of hopefulness strengthens our belief in the importance of empowering young people to turn their aspirations into action.
With that in mind we have developed Mō Āpōpō Future-Makers – an aspirational initiative with a focus on providing rangatahi with the skills to think and act more creatively, critically, and collaboratively into the future.
Mō Āpōpō is about empowering young people to dream big, imagine futures of their own making and find creative ways to work together to bring to life their shared aspirations.
How are we doing it?
We are developing a toolkit grounded in Māori perspectives and stories, that supports young people to
- Use storytelling to make change
- Understand how systems work
- Work collectively to imagine and practice a different world
- Turn dreams into real life outcomes
In 2025 we are piloting the toolkit with 100 young people across a range of different groups in a variety of settings: school classrooms, workshops, youth groups and other communities as follows:
1. Secondary School – classroom model
This pilot is designed for and delivered in secondary schools – either within classroom/subject hours, or out-of-subject time. We collaborate with teachers to utilise their expertise and to find the best place for Mō Āpōpō within their school context and curriculum.
Currently we are working with two schools using two different approaches:
- 8 x 90-min classes as part of a Business (Impact & Innovation) subject area
- 4 x 1-day workshops
2. Rangatahi Ngāi Tahu – wānanga model
This pilot group is rangatahi Ngāi Tahu aged 16–26 years old who are participating in a series of four weekend marae-based wānanga to explore how strengthening identities in Ngāi Tahutanga can enhance collaboration for change.
3. Tuākana/teina – mentoring model
This pilot targets rangatahi aged 15 – 25 and is delivered across four day-long workshops. It follows a tuākana/teina model, where we work with youth workers (tuākana) who bring onboard young people (teina) to test a mentoring model focused on strengthening the capabilities of youth workers to support content delivery and enhance rangatahi engagement.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the pilot, we expect our 100 participants will be able to:
- Identify their skills and strengths as future-makers
- Deepen their understanding of complex challenges and different perspectives
- Imagine the impact of collective actions in creating transformative outcomes
- Take action by backing themselves to influence better futures
Our long-term vision:
Our vision is a new generation of rangatahi who are equipped and empowered to shape futures of their own making, and for the collective good. While we hold fast to our long-term vision, our project is emergent – this means we are testing new ideas and adapting as we go. Trialing three different approaches helps us to gain a clear understanding of what works best and has the greatest potential to become sustainable long-term. We don’t know yet exactly what this will look like, but we are looking forward to continuing to work with our network of amazing passionate and out-of-the-box thinking people who are on the journey with us.
Our Funders
Thanks to our funders: Peter McKenzie Project and Rātā Foundation who continue to believe in Tokona te Raki and support our kaupapa.
Contact us:
If you want to know more about Mō Āpōpō future-makers, please contact:
Alice Dimond
Project Manager
[email protected]
