A year of connection
I write to you with gratitude on this warm December day. We’ve had a busy 2025 as Nōku te Ao, travelling the length and breadth of Aotearoa to partner with allies and work toward a society where we uphold the mana and human rights of all tāngata whaiora.
This year we strengthened connections between lived experience communities across the motu. We’ve focused on exploring the clarity that comes after crisis, and have heard the wise words of Egan Bidois, Jehan Casinader, Karlo Mila, Hannah Whittaker-Komatsu, Mau te Rangimarie Clark, and the team behind Soften Up Bro. Their kōrero weaved connections across our movement, supporting us all to find meaning in our journeys, and to consider how our experiences of hurt and healing can help us to build more inclusive communities.
We’ve released exciting new tools, including:
- A Media resource to support us all to tell safe and inclusive mental health stories.
- Inside a young person’s mind, which helps us pause and consider how our words, actions and assumptions affect the young people in our lives.
We’ve continued to work with thousands of journalists and health professionals across the country to explore how their work can bring us closer to our vision of a more inclusive Aotearoa. We commend their curiosity and courage and are excited to continue to partner with our allies to improve outcomes for tāngata whaiora.
We’ve supported flaxroots leadership, investing in:
Each of these kaupapa have a unique approach to support us all to honour the mana of tāngata whaiora, and we cannot wait to see the impact of their work.
Our accomplishments this year build on decades of advocacy. We’re proud to be able to continue to grow this movement, which started as a seed in 1997, when Like Minds Like Mine was launched in response to calls by Psychiatric Survivors to end stigma and discrimination. We fondly remember the many people who have lent their spirit to this kaupapa over the last 3 decades and feel so grateful to be nourished by their aspiration’s years later. I hope the work we lead today will foster inclusive communities and will nurture the lived experience leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you for the role you play as a supporter of this mahi. It has been a busy, and at times, heavy year. I hope you have a wonderful Summer, I hope you are surrounded by love, and I look forward to working together again next year.
Tū pakari, tū taha. Ko te kotahitanga o tō tātou kaupapa. Nōku te Ao.
Stand proud. Stand alongside. We are united by our purpose. This is our world.
Ngā mihi, Nā
Manisha