14th July 2025, written by the NDSA Executive —
Kia ora koutou and welcome back to our blogs for the year! It’s been quite the break, however we’ve been working away at our new website layout and taking some time to sort out our operations. After spending some time recovering from Covid (wear those masks and stay home if you’re sick! 😷), we started June off a bit late. That said, we spent the later half making connections kanohi ki te kanohi with members and partner organisations! Here’s our roundup for June 2025
I.Lead
We were lucky enough to be selected as participants for the I.Lead Conference 2025 held in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). I.Lead is a disabled youth-led movement aimed at amplifying the voices of young people across Aotearoa — and amplify they did! After two days of wānanga, participants had the opportunity to speak at Parliament about important issues, representing various tables with core themes affecting disabled people such as education, housing, and employment.
The conference was held at Te Papa, who happened to be preparing for Matariki celebrations. It was wonderful to have these discussions at a time of reflection, celebration, and looking forward to the upcoming year!
We were so grateful to be a part of the I.Lead kauapapa, and having the chance to hear about issues affecting young people each with different experiences and perspectives!
Training at Te Tira Ahu Pae
After observing Matariki, we headed back into the mahi and attended training held by Te Tira Ahu Pae, Massey University’s students’ association. As a part of our funded Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Te Tira Ahu Pae, one key service we offer is training for representatives, executives, association staff, and clubs on disability competence and confidence. Our Co-President, Nikita, got to cover topics such as understanding disability, models of disability, language and culture, and how to access resources available to partners such as our accessible events guidelines.
Our Memorandum of Understanding covers a few other aspects and gives us the tools 🛠 we need to directly support our members at Disability at Massey (DaM), along with advocate on the ground for disabled learners at Massey. It’s basically a document that makes sure we look out for each other and share resources — and that disabled learners are considered in decisions at Te Tira Ahu Pae.
The training was held at Te Rau Karamu Marae on Massey’s Pukeahu campus, a space where we were truly honoured to be welcomed into. Beginning with pōwhiri, a welcoming ceremony, our Co-President (Eloise) was invited onto the marae, and we were informed of tikanga (rules) that we respected. We were really appreciative of the guidance we were given, and for the opportunity to ask those questions where disability sometimes makes life a little bit more complicated!
The award-winning wharenui of Te Rau Karamu Marae contained stories of whakapapa and it was a privilege to be able to witness the clear love and dedication put into its design and building. Our Co-President Eloise could have spent hours lost in the details of the native fauna and flora patterned along the ceilings 🌱🦉
Additionally, it was wonderful to meet up with one of our representatives from Disability at Massey, an alliance group of Te Tira Ahu Pae consisting of four (you heard it — four!) disabled student representatives. Our Co-President, who happens to be one of them, might be seen as a bit biased towards DaM, however 🤗
Disabled Persons Assembly — Women’s Network Hui
After a brief break coming home from Wellington, we had the opportunity to attend the Women’s Network Hui held by the Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA). With our Co-President Nikita working behind the scenes in their capacity in the DPA, our new Engagement Officer, Max, also attended alongside Eloise! This hui held in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) was an opportunity for disabled people from a range of backgrounds to kōrero on their experiences as disabled women and non-binary folks, and discuss changes affecting us. We were able to provide our whakaaro (thoughts) on issues affecting disabled ākonga (learners) at tertiary institutions across the country. We also had a wee moment trying to work through our feelings getting to meet disabled leaders such as Mojo Mathers, Huhana Hickey, and Juliana Carvalho!
We were absolutely overwhelmingly awestruck with the accessibility of this hui — with New Zealand Sign Language Interpreters confident in te reo Māori, Eloise getting to geek out seeing their first stenotype in-person, and extra attention paid to dietary requirements — we saw that all people were truly able to participate and had the opportunity to have their voices heard. Having space to fit our wheelchairs in between chairs and tables, and the chance to go back to our hotel when the noise levels got a bit high were both excellent bonuses, too!
Wrapping up June 2025
As we head into July, we’re looking forward to continuing the mahi and serve disabled learners best we can — whether that’s by attending events and getting to kōrero in-person, doing the less-bloggable background work to develop resources and undertake admin, or by providing advocacy services directly to disabled learners — we’re looking forward to what the year brings us!
We appreciate the ongoing support and awhi we receive from our community! Mā te wā,
The National Disabled Students’ Association 2025 Executive