DIGITAL ADVOCACY PILOT

Across Aotearoa, young people are doing their best to speak up about the issues that affect them - but too often, their stories get lost in systems that are hard to access, slow to respond, or not designed with them in mind.

Our Coerce the System, Not Each Other research paper highlighted the stories and statistics that were sobering. 

Launching 4 January 2026

This pilot goes live on 4 January 2026 with our first youth-led digital series. The series brings forward honest stories about justice, safety, belonging, coercive control, and the parts of the system young people say feel the most unsafe or confusing. These insights came directly from the research and from the young people who shaped it.

This launch marks the beginning of a new space where young people can speak openly, share solutions, and lead change on their own terms.

What This Pilot Is All About

We’re training a group of rangatahi to become digital advocates who can:
• tell their stories safely and confidently
• challenge the systems shaping their everyday lives
• interview leaders and hold decision-makers to account
• shift mindsets through youth-led media
• build a movement powered by real lived experience

This is about giving young people the tools to influence the conversations they’re usually left out of.

What We’re Creating Together

• A cohort of 10 to 15 trained youth digital advocates
• Skills across content production, advocacy, storytelling, and research
• A digital series shaped directly by our research findings
• Conversations with survivors, advocates, experts, and community leaders
• Youth-led insights that explore system gaps and how to fix them

These stories highlight what we heard throughout the research that the harm, the hope, the resilience, and the urgent need for systems to change. 

Why This Matters

When young people share their lived experience, they do more than speak up.
They:
• shift policy
• strengthen communities
• change how adults understand youth issues
• create safer pathways for others

When rangatahi lead, our whole community benefits.

What’s Next

We’re in the final stages of bringing this pilot to life. Once the advocates complete their prep, we’ll start rolling out the series, interviews, and digital content from 4 January 2026.

If you want to understand the research that inspired this work - the stories, the system challenges, and the solutions young people are offering - you can download the full paper below.

Download the full research:
Coerce the System, Not Each Other - A Youth-Led Insight into Justice, Safety, and System Change