While it feels like we’re slipping back to worse times all around the world, it’s important to remember not all is lost – there are always ambitious youth reminding you of how little you were doing at 18.

We’ve seen rangatahi at the front of national movements like the School Strike 4 Climate and the Toitū Te Tiriti, reminding us who these issues will truly stand to effect in the coming years. The Y25 is just another reminder of the small revolutions happening around the motu at the hands of young people.

Run by the YWCA, Y25 is an annual programme dedicated to uplifting 25 young wāhine and gender-diverse changemakers who are making positive strides in their communities. The six-month programme is all about nurturing these changemakers, supporting each other’s kaupapa and taking care of themselves while they’re at it. This year’s cohort covers a bit of everything, from sports to STEM, publishing, global diplomacy, environmental activism and more. To say this list is inspiring is an understatement.

Among the sea of names is Ceilidh Brown, a queer Pasifika changemaker in the Waikato. After seeing the success of friends who’ve been a part of Y25 in the past, she nominated herself this year and was selected to join the 2025 cohort.

She’s been a UNICEF Aotearoa Youth Ambassador, a panelist at the Indigenous Women in Industry (IWI) conference in 2024 and helped establish one of the first MVPFAFF+ spaces in the Waikato – all while pursuing a graduate diploma in Māori and Indigenous studies at the University of Waikato (with a BA in History and English polished off last year). After completing her diploma, she plans to come to the big smoke to pursue her Masters in Indigenous Studies at University of Auckland. Did I mention she’s 22? 

Funding from Te Whatu Ora, prompted by an identified need for more indigenous spaces, kickstarted the creation of the Pasifika programme at Rainbow Hub Waikato. As the programme coordinator, Ceilidh helped establish it and grow, making it one of the few spaces in the region dedicated to MVPFAFF+ communities. Her work there is also personal, born out of her struggle to reckon with her identity as a young, Niuean, queer woman. Many Pacific nations have long had their own language and understanding of rainbow identities pre-colonisation, but modern attitudes mean the two can feel mutually exclusive.

“I've often felt I had to leave my queer identity at the door in indigenous spaces, or vice versa, where I have to leave my Niuean culture in queer spaces,” Ceilidh says. 

She wanted to create a space where people could learn and embrace themselves. “Saying that is one thing, but embodying it, I think for the other people was really important. That was probably my favorite part with Rainbow Hub – I was able to navigate my own identity, and it's something I'm more proud of, being able to understand that I don't have to leave my other identities at the door.” 

One of her favourite parts of her mahi has been seeing the change in the community. Only one person showed up to their first Pasifika event, but over time, the community grew and they came out of their shell. “Being able to relate to others really helped them become more secure in themselves. Being able to see the impact on even one person, that is what motivates me to continue to do the work I do – there is hope and change is possible.”

It’s hard to talk about Ceilidh’s work and not acknowledge the steps being taken to cut programmes like hers. The existence of the Pasifika programme and the positive impact it’s had on her community is directly thanks to now-slashed government funding. The future of organisations like Rainbow Hub Waikato and their services hang in the balance as the money pool gets smaller and smaller (and harmful rhetoric puts our Rainbow whānau in more danger, making this work even more important). 

Ceilidh is proudly Niuean. Among Aotearoa’s unique smorgasbord of Pacific identities, the small nation can fly under the radar. “I feel like we're a minority within a minority,” she says. 

90% of Niueans live in Aotearoa, most live in Auckland, and a majority of them are young: in 2023, 34.4% of Niueans were under 15, compared to 18.7% of the total population. Ceilidh points to Kena Hekau, the first Niuean Youth MP, as an example of the work young Niueans are doing in the community, and simultaneously the need for more diversity within Pasifika communities. 

“Being able to highlight [our youth’s] success furthers our representation. There also needs to be support from other Pacific communities to help highlight, not only Niueans, but other smaller islands to ensure that they get the same visibility.” She’s helping herald the change with her studies, committed to sharing Niuean history and advocating for all Indigenous communities.

Being an advocate for Niueans goes hand in hand with advocating for young people. At the Young Voters Debate in 2023, she posed crowd questions to our country’s most powerful, and during the IWI conference, expressed that engagement with youth often feels like a commodity. As we approach local elections, and with the general election on the horizon, Ceilidh emphasises the importance of meeting young people where they’re at. 

“Being able to go into communities and actually sit down and talk to people is a really big thing. Talanoa is a huge thing that [Pasifika] do to ensure that everyone's voices are heard, but also, the silencing of the youth MPs – you invite people into the house and don’t let them speak, that's literally their job. It really irritates me! 

“If you're going to involve youth, do it properly. Actually let them lead. We need more diverse voices and ideas within our government to make our youth heard.”

Her mahi has taken her across the world – with UNICEF, she travelled to Dubai with fellow ambassadors for COP28 (the Conference of the Parties that focuses on children’s rights and needs in climate change change discussions). There, she had one of the most unique family reunions you could dream up. 

“It was the last day and we were walking somewhere, and I actually walked past my aunty! I knew she was there because she's in the Ministry of Finance in the Niuean government. I'm a big trust in the universe, ‘if it's meant to happen, it’ll happen’ person. And then we literally walk past each other! Being able to see other Niueans thrive is so cool, and that moment really showed me that I can do whatever I want and represent my country.”

While Ceilidh finished her honours thesis last year, she was doing 60 hour weeks, excluding her daily commute from Paeroa to UoW’s Hamilton campus (that’s an hour each way). She juggles two part-time jobs, admittedly has very little time for herself and yet still manages to radiate a natural, bubbly energy through our Zoom call. How does she do it? 

“I thrive off chaos and being able to have different deadlines – I think that's just my ADHD. But what helps me through those tough times is seeing the impact our groups have on people, and keeping my why, my reason behind all this mahi, is what keeps me going.”