The Generation that changes the story, together
Description
National Digital Launch | Tuesday 8 September 2026
What story do we want the next generation to inherit?
Join UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand for the public launch of The Generation That Changes the Story, Together, a national movement bringing together people, communities and organisations around a shared ambition: to shape a future where the next generation can thrive.
A future grounded in equality, respect, safety, agency and opportunity. Where women and men, girls and boys recognise that creating a more equitable world is not the responsibility of one gender, generation or organisation, but something we all contribute to.
This 90-minute digital event on Zoom will bring together inspiring speakers, community leaders, partner organisations and diverse voices from across Aotearoa for an honest, hopeful and future-focused national conversation.
Through personal stories, lived experience, research and discussion, we will explore some of the interconnected forces shaping the world the next generation is inheriting:
Equality and opportunity — who gets to participate, lead, influence and thrive?
Young people and the digital world — how are technology, social media and online culture shaping identity, relationships and expectations?
Positive masculinity and allyship — how can boys and men be active contributors to gender equality and positive change?
Economic agency — how do we create greater access to financial confidence, opportunity, leadership and wealth for women?
Healthy relationships and safety — how do we build cultures of respect, care, consent and belonging and invest earlier in preventing violence?
Leadership and workplace culture — what role can organisations play in changing the systems, behaviours and opportunities people experience every day?
Families, education and communities — what values, behaviours and stories are we passing from one generation to the next?
Intergenerational change — what do we want to carry forward, and what are we prepared to change?
At the heart of the conversation is a simple belief:
None of us holds the whole solution, but all of us can contribute to it.
The Generation That Changes the Story, Together is about connecting the knowledge, lived experiences, leadership and mahi already happening across Aotearoa and asking what becomes possible when we bring those threads together.
The launch will also introduce ways individuals and organisations can participate through conversation, education, storytelling, advocacy, fundraising, partnership, workplace activation and collective action, creating a journey through International Men's Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and International Women's Day and beyond.
Whether you are a young person, parent, educator, community leader, employer, advocate, researcher or simply someone who believes the next generation deserves the opportunity to inherit something better, we invite you to join us.
Every generation inherits a story.
Every generation has the opportunity to change it.
What will ours leave behind?
Lineup
Opening Remarks: Tara Singh, President - UN Women Aotearoa NZ
Facilitator: Catherine van der Meulen - UN Women Aotearoa NZ
Speaker: Sue Jameson - Past national President, Inner Wheel Aotearoa New Zealand
Sue Jameson is Past National President of Inner Wheel New Zealand and a passionate advocate for creating stronger, more supportive communities. Drawing on her own lived experience of family violence, her work with Taranaki Women’s Refuge and years of community volunteering, Sue believes deeply in the power of open conversation, education, compassion and connection to create change. Through Inner Wheel, she champions women supporting one another to find their confidence and voice, while encouraging women and men alike to be part of building a future grounded in kindness, acceptance, respect and non-judgement.
Speaker: Takurua Tamarau Tawera - Co-chair, WeaFV / National Network of Family Violence Services | White Ribbon Spokesman
Takurua Tamarau Tawera has dedicated nearly 39 years to the health sector, working across community services, addiction residential care and with tāne experiencing trauma, co-existing challenges and histories of violence. Today, his work includes facilitating alcohol and other drug groups with men at Waikeria Prison, supporting tāne to take responsibility, heal from trauma and create meaningful change. Takurua is Co-chair of weaFv, a spokesperson for White Ribbon, Ride Leader for Te Ahi Kikoha, and Site Manager-Clinician at Manaaki Ora’s Te Whare Oranga Ngākau. His work is grounded in a belief that prevention must begin early: strengthening whānau, nurturing tamariki, restoring mana and supporting boys to understand that real strength is found not in control or violence, but in respect, empathy, honesty, responsibility and aroha. At The Generation That Changes the Story, Together, Takurua will bring decades of frontline experience and a Te Ao Māori perspective to the conversation about positive male role models, trauma, accountability, healing and the environments we need to create if we want future generations to inherit a different story.
Speaker: Joe Consedine, Mobilise – Activating Allies
Joe Consedine is co-founder of Mobilise – Activating Allies, alongside Jess Stuart, working with organisations across Aotearoa to engage men as active allies, build inclusive leadership capability and turn good intentions into meaningful action. Through Mobilise, Joe and Jess create spaces for people to explore identity, bias, allyship and power through three deceptively simple questions: Ko wai au? Ko wai koe? Ko wai tātou? Who am I? Who are you? Who are we together? Joe believes that when men are intentionally invited into gender equity, we can move from division to unity and from incremental to scaled change. Rather than expecting those experiencing marginalisation to carry the responsibility for dismantling the barriers they face, his work asks how we can mobilise together to challenge systemic barriers, rebalance power and create cultures where everyone can thrive. At The Generation That Changes the Story, Together, Joe will share lived experience and stories of change, exploring what becomes possible when women and men move beyond gendered division towards shared responsibility and collective action. Because everyone benefits when we move towards greater equity.
Description
Event Programme
Join us for a 90-minute national conversation bringing together lived experience, community leadership, allyship and hope around one central question:
What story do we want the next generation to inherit?
Welcome | Tara Singh
President, UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand
Opening the conversation and sharing why UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand is convening this movement and the opportunity for shared responsibility and intergenerational change.
Introducing The Generation That Changes the Story, Together | Catherine van der Meulen
Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropy, UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand
The vision for a national movement bringing women and men, girls and boys, workplaces, families and communities together around equality, agency, opportunity, leadership, healthy relationships, safety and a future where everyone can thrive.
Voices That Change the Story
Three perspectives from people already creating change across Aotearoa.
Sue Jameson | Inner Wheel New Zealand
The power of women, community and collective action to create change across generations.
Takurua Tamarau Tawera | White Ribbon, WEaFV & Te Ahi Kikoha
Drawing on nearly four decades of frontline experience to explore tāne, trauma, accountability, whānau, positive role models and why prevention needs to begin early with our tamariki.
Joe Consedine | Co-founder, Mobilise – Activating Allies
Moving from gendered division towards unity and what becomes possible when men are intentionally engaged as active participants in gender equality and collective change.
In Conversation | What Will It Take?
Our speakers come together for an open conversation exploring what we are seeing, what is already working, where we need to start earlier and what becomes possible when we act together.
Different generations, experiences and perspectives. One shared ambition for the future we leave behind.
From Conversation to Action | Be Part of the Story
How individuals, families, educators, workplaces, businesses and communities can participate through education, storytelling, allyship, advocacy, fundraising, partnership and action.
An introduction to how the movement will continue through International Men’s Day, the 16 Days of Activism, International Women’s Day and beyond.
Closing | Tara Singh
President, UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand
An invitation to consider the role each of us can play in shaping what comes next.
Every generation inherits a story. Together, we can change the one we leave behind.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
