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Crowned Winner of the Best Community Involvement Award.
The Māngere Youth Voices project gave young people a powerful platform and proudly took home the Best Community Involvement award at the 2024 New Zealand Community Newspapers Association Awards, for its impact.
Backed by $5,000 in funding from the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, the project sponsored five editions in the 275 Times newspaper, and provided each participating school with a $50 prezzy card for their contribution.
Board chair Tauanu’u Nick Bakulich says, “This is something truly special, national honours for a project driven entirely by our own community. The 275 Times is youthful, and this project was a strong and creative way to engage our rangatahi, a group that can often be hard to reach. Local youth, local stories, local backing - and now national recognition. It’s more than a win; it’s a moment of pride for Māngere-Ōtāhuhu. This shows what’s possible when we invest in our people and locally. We’re beyond proud.”
The project in five
Managing editor Joanne Latif shares the importance of the local board work going beyond policy; it’s about people, community, and the future, “We’re honoured to have received two awards recently at the NZ Community Newspapers Awards. These awards are dedicated to the people of Māngere who inspire our stories, and to the Māngere youth who contributed to our Youth Voices Project. We’re deeply grateful to the local board - not just for funding, but for believing in and supporting our community mahi, and making it possible for us to attend the awards evening in Christchurch.”
Every story was written by the students themselves.
The first edition (July 2024) featured Aorere College’s Samoan speech champs, Māngere College’s ‘Creative Nest’ backseat organiser, and the Le’aute sisters’ upcycled basketball pot plants for the Young Enterprise challenge.
In the second, Southern Cross students spoke on community pride and leadership, while ASDAH’s brass band shared their journey to the NZ National Brass Band Championship.
The third saw Bader Intermediate’s Clash of the Sirens spark a love for performing, and Māngere Central’s Year 7s won the South Auckland Maths Challenge.
Edition four included Al Madinah’s hit play The Jewel Thief and Māngere College’s unforgettable ‘Samoa Malaga’ trip.
The final edition celebrated Southern Cross’ 2024 head girl securing scholarships and a Biomedical Science Fast Track offer, and Ngā Tapuwae heading to the 2025 Kapa Haka nationals.
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