Leaders of Tongan student bodies throughout New Zealand gathered in the city of Dunedin over the weekend as part of “Leadership Week”, an annual meeting of students organised by the New Zealand Tongan Tertiary Students Association (NZSTA).

According to a NZSTA press release, the Leadership Week gathering was sponsored by the University of Otago and it was the second time for the meeting to occur in Dunedin, New Zealand’s fifth largest city. 

Attendees included representatives of Tongan student associations from Auckland Institute of Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Manukau Institute of Technology, Unitec Institute of Technology, University of Auckland, University of Otago, University of Waikato and Victoria University of Wellington.

NZSTA president Mary Jane Kivalu stated “We want the Tongan tertiary students in New Zealand to come together and recognise the great things we can achieve if we work together, and that won’t happen if the leaders don’t lead the way”. 

Mary Kivalu, who is a business student at Otago University, stated that she had a strong vision for the association to provide greater opportunities for Tongan tertiary students in New Zealand. 

“This country has so much to offer, especially for Pacific people, but we have to do our part in utilising those opportunities. Our annual conference has been around for 25 years, first known as Aofangatuku and then later renamed as Amatakiloa, and it is up to today’s generation to take things a step further. There is so much we can do but it begins with providing a strong platform of networking - whether we like it or not, we live in a world where social capital can take you a long way.”