Tena koutou
This is an overdue message from the trustees of the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute.
We hope you and your family are staying safe and holding up under this extraordinary situation. Alert Level 4 has been tough on everyone and we know that many are suffering, and we still have a long journey ahead of us as we all adjust to our new normal.
Covid-19 is the most significant challenge to AYLI’s leadership development programme to date. Simply put, in a world where delegations are unable to travel internationally, and conferences unable to meet in person, our international programme in its present form will remain paused for the foreseeable future.
This hasn’t been our only challenge. In 2019, another significant pivot for AYLI was adjusting the international programme to operate on a voluntary basis. A challenge we were still working to resolve throughout 2019 and into 2020, whilst also doing what we could to support recent delegates through their fellowships. Because of this, regretfully, we weren't in a position to support a delegation at the climate conference held in Madrid.
Over the years, AYLI has proudly supported 180 delegates to attend 25 conferences. We wish to thank all of the delegates and head delegates who attended conferences, our volunteer trustees - past and present, all our volunteers and team members, and in particular, Rachel our former Executive Director, who was integral to making that all possible.
We are very proud of who AYLI is, and of the various wonderful people that have been through our programmes. That is why, despite the challenges, we are excited to bring you up to speed with where the organisation is going in 2020 and beyond.
First, the bad news; The next climate conference has been postponed, so we will again not be sending a delegation in 2020 at this stage. But, we will be watching what happens to conferences at the UN and other global institutions to see how they will operate in their new normal, and how we can help young New Zealanders be a part of it.
When we’ve asked delegates how we can improve our programme, we’ve been told to look at opportunities domestically, and find a lower cost-of-entry. So, we’re working on ways to bring opportunities to a wider range of young people within Aotearoa. We’re not sure what this will look like in the present climate, but we’ll keep you informed as we develop our domestic programme further.
At AYLI, we believe leadership is a skill that anyone can learn, and teach, and over the past four weeks we’ve been talking with friends who inspire us, in order to ask them about their leadership journeys. We’re excited about the korero we’ve had, and will be launching these conversations as videos on our social media channels, and website, starting tomorrow.
Finally, we’re also excited to take interest from alumni and young people interested in joining our board and helping us grow the organisation this year. Throughout the past year our trustees have been meeting monthly, operating the organisation in caretaker mode, and working on our policies and strategy, while rethinking how AYLI can sustainably carry out its goals. We have developed a strong governance team with ideas about how AYLI can continue into the future and we want your energy and enthusiasm to build on this work.
We understand that there has been a lack of information out to our alumni and stakeholders, and we apologise for that. We found it difficult to make public announcements at a time when we were less clear about our own goals and future direction.
We hope that you will be open to joining us on this new path,
Nga mihi nui
Melissa Harward and Benjamin Brooking,
Deputy Chair and Chair
On behalf of the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute