Kia ora te whānau - and I do feel like I’m talking to family here. We’ve been through a good few years together. I look forward to seeing many of you at our biennial Conference, and hope you also enjoy the chance to get together with like-minded people. As NCWNZ transitions to new leadership, some things will change - and many things will continue because they are core to our mahi, our values, our collective kaupapa.
NCWNZ is not defined by any single person but by our legacy that is built on, year after year after year. For 130 years, so far! If we were simply “Kate Sheppard’s” group, then we would have faded many years ago. Instead, there have been many remarkable women contributing to the mahi. We have changed their approach as society changed around us while staying true to core advocacy for eliminating discrimination against women and making gender equality a reality in Aotearoa.
Now we all have the responsibility for carrying this legacy forward and adapting to modern times, still standing strong as we have been for 130 years. Ahead of us still lies internal mahi for us as an organisation to truly understand what it means to be a good Tiriti partner, and how to more fully include perspectives from ethnic communities, disabled peoples, young women, rural women and rainbow communities. We need to work on adapting our external advocacy for systems change based on what works while keeping to ethical standards. When we do this well, we should be able to significantly grow our membership which will contribute to financial and functional sustainability of the organisation.
I will remain a part of NCWNZ when I step down as President at the Conference in September, staying part of the whānau and contributing to the mahi of the future. I will miss the stimulating opportunities that came with the role, and I won’t miss the heavy workload. Thank you all for supporting me during my time as President, and I know you will be equally supportive of the new leadership team.
Ka kite anō, fa’afetai, meitaki and thank you, and I look forward to our collective future.
Suzanne