Theme: Disruption

DISRUPTION is about disturbing, or interrupting, an event or process; and that is exactly what we plan to do at TEDxManukau 2017.

Those of us who live, love and work in South Auckland know that the real stories here are those of wonderful, everyday people doing extraordinary things – inventing, performing, thinking, studying, playing and caring. It is a community of exceptional love, talent and ability; and one with a proud sense of identity shaped by culture, family and faith.

But these stories, the ones that truly exemplify the South Auckland community, are only known to the small groups of people who are immediately connected to them. They are so often drowned out by the weight of those that get played out in the media; the portrayal of a seemingly failed and troubled community.

TEDxManukau 2017 allows us to showcase the incredible ‘ideas worth spreading’ that South Auckland is generating. And in doing so, we hope to positively challenge the external opinion of South Auckland – we will test its stereotypes, interrupt its misconceived reputation and gently disturb at least one perception you might have about how things are in South Auckland.

Manukau
Manukau
Auckland, Auckland, 2104
New Zealand

Arturo Pelayo

Innovation consultant

Arturo Pelayo is inspired by connecting people. As an innovation consultant, he is passionate about embracing the future and helping organisations deal positively with change. From teaching astronomy to blind youth, delivering nuclear radiation safety training, to conducting strategy work for New Zealand political parties, Arturo’s experience designing products and services has taken him to Europe, the Americas and Oceania. He recognises that technology is changing, with a fundamental shift away from old hierarchical structures towards decentralised systems. “We live in a time when we can redefine our relationships with one another; redesign our governance systems and reimagine our place in the ecosystem and beyond as we become a space-faring species,” Arturo says.

Fatumata Bah

Student

Fatumata was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is a descendent of the Fulani tribe of Sierra Leone, West Africa. She is a young leader who advocates for cultural intelligence, the empowerment of women and diversity and inclusion. Fatumata was a finalist in the young leader category for the 2016 Westpac Women of Influence Awards and in April of that year she represented New Zealand at the 33Sixty Commonwealth Young Leaders Programme in Glasgow, Scotland. Fatumata is a third year student at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) studying a conjoint Bachelor of Health Science and Bachelor of Business, majoring in Psychology and Management. She is also the Stakeholder & Liaison Executive for the university’s African Students Club.

John Kotoisuva

Founder & Chief Development Officer

John is committed to mentoring Māori and Pacific youth to reach their potential. Eight years ago he founded the C-Me Mentoring Trust which focuses on encouraging young people into careers in the trade. This has evolved into a NZQA-registered trade training centre, Oceania Career Academy. The academy supports a number of secondary schools in South Auckland with high Māori and Pacific populations. John believes in creating the right environment for Māori and Pacific youth to contribute their best to the New Zealand economy and society. A former tradesman himself with seven years as an industry assessor and 10 years ‘teaching experience at tertiary level, John says his passion is working with young people.

Kendall Collins

Director

Kendal knows that to stand strong, one must first have a positive sense of self-worth and cultural identity. So the high school social worker co-created the charitable trust, Sisters United, designed to combat the negative effects of bullying, low self-esteem, negative body image and cultural disconnection of young women in Auckland. The Young Queens peer-mentoring programme and other services she runs, provide a creative space in The Palace Dance Studio for young women to start their own journey of self-discovery. The programme uses mediums of spoken word, dance and art to help young women discover their talents, build their confidence and find their voice. Kendal is of Samoan and English heritage and was a 2016 Vodafone Foundation World of Difference recipient.

Lance O'Sullivan

Founder & Managing Director

Lance is a passionate advocate for Māori health. In 2014 he was named Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year. He is also an author, innovator, public speaker and leader. Harnessing the skills he acquired from his cultural heritage and medical training, he and his wife Tracy established Navilluso Medica, a healthcare company designed to ensure people receive appropriate and quality healthcare at the right time and in the right place. In 2013, Lance established the MOKO Foundation, a registered charitable trust that works to change the world, starting with the far north of New Zealand. His aim is to support and empower communities, focusing on vulnerable children and young people.

Lily Fraser

General Practitioner

Lily (Ngai Tahu) is a GP and clinical director at Turuki Healthcare, a Maori provider in South Auckland’s Mangere. She is the first person from a Kura Kaupapa Maori education background to graduate from Medical School. Lily is passionate about helping people with metabolic disease turn their health around through the use of food and medicine. Through her daily clinical work, the free Low Carb High Fat nutrition support group and the “Low Carb Healthy Fanau” Facebook page she created, she empowers people to make simple and long-lasting nutritional and lifestyle changes that set them on a new road to health. Lily wants to spread this message and hopes to see it become the future standard of care for diabetes.

Panapa Ehau

Managing Director & Community Organiser

Panapa (Ngāti Uepohatu, Ngāti Porou) lives at home in Te Tairawhiti. Panapa is passionate about developing opportunities to increase the wellbeing of his people and their tribal lands. To do this, he focuses on three strands; housing, food and sustainable incomes for whānau and the whenua. He oversees courses at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Ruatoria that focus on sustainable land use and building healthy and affordable homes out of local and natural resources. As the managing director of the charitable company Hikurangi Enterprises Limited, he operates a range of trading ventures and forms partnerships with other companies to generate income for shareholders and create local employment. He describes his whānau, including three children, as the centre of his life.

Raymond McGrath

Animator, illustrator, designer, musician & writer

Raymond is an award-winning animator, illustrator, designer, musician and writer who has worked in children’s television, publishing and advertising for nearly 25 years. He has completely lost count of the number of books he has illustrated, television shows he has worked on and TV commercials he has made (maths and remembering are not his strengths). But he does remember that he loves gardening, photography, music and drawing and that he is the creator and director of the educational pre-school TV series Puzzle Inc. He also remembers that he lives in the country with his lovely wife, his son and two beautiful daughters, a small menagerie of pets. But that’s because those things are easy to remember!

Stephen Boxer

Managing Director & Social Entrepeneur

Stephen has been working in the youth development field for 21 years and specialising in youth justice for the last 16. He founded the MYND programme in 2001 (now part of the Graeme Dingle Foundation) which works with the top 20 per cent of youth offenders in Auckland. He has also developed another programme to focus on the younger siblings and families of high risk offenders to help stem the flow into the criminal system. He was a top three finalist for the New Zealander of the Year awards in 2011 and named in the New Year’s Honours list in 2014 to become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to youth.