Meet the Members: Ara Taiohi

Ciara OCallaghan • May 16, 2022

This month's Meet the Members features Ara Taiohi, Aotearoa New Zealand's peak body for youth development. Ara Taiohi supports, uplifts and represents the youth work sector, with 1600 organisational and individual members who work with young people.

They answered some of our questions about their mahi, their vision and their future...

Who are you and what do you do?

Tēnā tātou e te whānau. We are Ara Taiohi, the peak body of Youth Development. ‘Ara’ means ‘pathway, lane, passageway to/from’ and ‘taiohi’ means ‘young person’ in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, Ara Taiohi is the pathway to and from young people.

As a peak body we are committed to developing projects and sharing resources, tools and information to enhance practice within the sector.

What areas do you cover and who are your communities?

We are a national organisation, our community are the people who work with young people in Aotearoa. Our tari/office is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, but we have kaimahi residing in Ōtautahi and Tāmaki Makaurau.

Regarding the pandemic, what response are you most proud of?

Even though Youth Work was often not considered to be an essential service, we know that many young people relied on the strengths of their relationships with their youth workers. Our sector stood up and responded to this need.

What innovations do you use (either something you have created, had to create, or found out about that really helps you deliver)?

The more our mahi is informed by Te Ao Māori and other indigenous worldviews as well as being rangatahi lead the more effective we are in our communities.

What most excites you about your organisation’s future?

Our vision is Te Puawaitanga Taiohi o Aotearoa, seeing the Young people of Aotearoa thriving. When everybody who works with and supports Young People in Aotearoa (including Government, Business, Not for profit, Whānau and Communities) is grounded in a shared kaupapa our hope is this will be achieved.

Find out more about Ara Taiohi on their website here.

You can also follow Ara Taiohi on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep updated on their mahi!

The Ara Taiohi team!

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Hapori Aotearoa Conference Wrap-Up

By Community Networks • March 10, 2025

Last week Patrick represented CNA at the Hapori Aotearoa – Growing Communities Together in sunny Tauranga presented by Inspiring Communities and the Tauranga City Council. A two-day conference focused on providing practical resources amplifying community development. With each day having multiple concurrent workshops there were difficult (and esciting) choices to be made. The hottest topics were Social Return On Investments / Social Investment, Te Tiriti, and (no surprise) funding within the Sector. There were great speakers and a lot of table korero, spilling of tea, and sharing ideas and resources. Did you know there is a Regional Data Explorer on the Social Investment Agency website ? How might organisations use this to target their mahi and applications? “The Social Investment Agency’s Regional Data Explorer supports access to data for regional and sub-regional decision-making. It brings together 70 datasets or 'indicators' which can be filtered to meet a particular need." Another great workshop (Belinda Gorman ) looked into connecting with businesses to explore various ways of funding. Looking at alignment, how to approach and creating that relationship. One contribution we were able to make was a handy dandy doc on how to use the free version of ChatGPT to create a start – how to create a document that begins your journey on support, sponsorship and funding. Here it is – Using ChatGPT to Get $. And it was a great chance to catch up with Members – SociaLink (also a supporter of the conference); Volunteer Kapiti and Community Networking Trust. It was a time to catch up with friends from other organisations and to make new connections, both strengthening our reach around the Motu. Whilst conferences are expensive, attending can hit many birds with one stone and its important to get out of your own area, headspace to remind yourself that you are not alone in what’s going on; that there are people with ideas around you; and that (while it can be a draining experience) it is a fantastic way to recharge your spirit. We look forward to hosting our Members at our Members’ Only Hui on Friday, 7th November in Te Whanganui-a-Tara /Wgtn for exactly those reasons. Oh, did I mention it’s also our 50th Anniversary celebrations? Patrick Davies, Engagement Officer