A combined student body of Tongan Teritiary Students' Associations (NZTTSA) in New Zealand is holding its first leadership programme this weekend with the sponsorship of the University of Otago, Dunedin.

NZTTSA President, Mary Jane Kivalu, said the new programme is part of celebrating the association's 25^th anniversary this year and the student body, which gathers annually aims to push its members to bigger and better things.

“I think this is a great opportunity to empower the future leaders of our Tongan community,” she said.

Executive members of NZTTSA as well as executive members of each Tongan Tertiary Student Association in New Zealand will attend the Leadership Programme in Dunedin.

Workshops and presentations on developing leadership skills, as well as sessions on discussing goals and steps to achieve them as a team, will feature in the programme.

“This is also a chance for the team to get to know each other and bond, so that when the Tongan student-bodies come together for the Amatakiloa Conference, the leaders are able to present a strong united front, and not just lead, but lead by example," said Ms Kivalu.

The programme is sponsored by the University of Otago and Toko Collaboration Group. Other supporters include Formula E Indoor Raceway, Snowplanet Whangaparaoa Railway, Spookers and Scenic Hotel.

Toko Collaboration Group is a group of Tongan professionals dedicated to running workshops about suicide prevention in the Tongan communities, and Youth Fund Dunedin, a youth-by-youth voluntary funding body that provides grants for projects driven by people between 13-24 years of age, to encourage innovation, empowering, and creating inclusive opportunities for young people in Dunedin.