E Tū Tāngata Ambassadors
SIR STEVE HANSEN
Former All Blacks Coach
E Tū Tāngata embraces humanity at its best.
Everyone wants to be valued and cared about, it is the greatest thing that can happen to any individual because it gives them worth and if you have worth you can go out and achieve whatever you want to do.
Success creates a perception, but doesn’t actually define who you really are. I think your character does that. Success isn’t just an outcome it is how much effort you put into it, how hard you try and how you deal with adversity.
In our success we have the opportunity to inspire others.
My advice, give E Tū Tāngata a go, what have you got to lose?
DAME SUE BAGSHAW
Youth Health Doctor & Advocate
I am honoured to be an E Tū Tāngata Ambassador.
The whole programme resonates with the values both I and my husband hold dear. Everyone counts as one – no one counts more than anyone else and no one counts less. I went to an English boarding school and the whakatukī was Esse quam videri – to be rather than to seem.
If we all feel and are valued, then we can be free to be ourselves and not try to be someone that other people want us to be (or not be!). In that being we can help each other, and celebrate diversity.
The last 40 years of western politics has told us that individuals matter and we must all win. It is time to end this and to value each other when we stand together and stand up for other people together. As a community of people who value each other, we are strong.
JONNY SCHWASS
Celebrity Chef
People love you when you're winning but as Kiwis we never allow ourselves (personally) to really celebrate our successes. Equally when we fall, as many of us do, you realise how few truly care - their praise was empty. What is most important to understand, is that it is not about the number of people that care, it is how much one person cares and to know that there is always someone.
JANE WATSON
Netball World Champion 2019
New Zealand Netballer
I am so pleased to be a part of the E Tū Tāngata journey. I believe it is so important to work together to achieve greatness as a team and individually. This goes hand in hand with ensuring we are positively supporting and celebrating each other’s efforts and successes.
OKIRANO TILAIA
Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award Recipient
Leadership and Inspiration Commendation
E Tū Tāngata creates a safe space for myself and many other young people to have a talanoa about very sensitive subjects and issues that we are often afraid to discuss with each other; for example, the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ and its negative effects on young people.
I’m an ambassador for E Tū Tāngata because of my passion for challenging the status quo and helping our young people, the future of Aotearoa, feel like they belong in this country and have the support of their peers, families, and friends to achieve all that they can. They can define their own success while changing the culture and systematic inequalities prevalent in Aotearoa.