He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
What is the most important thing in this world?
It is people, it is people, it is people.

The words in this Māori proverb remind us of one of the deepest truths: At the heart of everything is people. This truth became even clearer to us during our time in Malaysia, a crossroads of Indigenous, Malay, Indian, and Chinese culture. For a week, Teach For Malaysia warmly welcomed seven more cultures for their Student Summit as we, Ako Mātātupu (Teach First NZ) delegates, joined with colleagues—now friends—from Armenia, Peru, Japan, India, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Among these delegates were students from high school and university, fellows, alumni, and staff of Teach For All network partners, and Teach For All global organization staff. Yet no voice, culture, or tongue was privileged above others; together, we erected a meeting house founded on a shared understanding of mana tangata (human dignity). It was in this context that the conversation began flowing and the pressing issues of our respective education systems were brought to the table.

He aha te kai a te rangatira?
He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero
What is the food of the leader?
It is dialogue, it is dialogue, it is dialogue

As each delegation shared their struggles and learnings, common themes emerged: 

• Systemic inequities rooted in local history.
• Basic needs, such as proper school hygiene, as prerequisites for learning.
• The qualities of teachers that are able to nurture students to thrive in the 21st century.

To really start untangling the problems resonating from all corners of the Teach For All network, it became clear that an expanded conception of rangatiratanga (leadership, authority, sovereignty), applied to the educational context, is required. As Ako Mātātupu teachers, we intuitively grasp and consciously practice mana tangata, thanks to the mahi (work) of our educational tuakana (older siblings) in our initial teacher training. 

However, it’s one thing to invite student voices into the circle, to listen attentively, to even incorporate some of their whakaaro (thoughts) into our initiatives. It’s quite another step to hand over the initiatives in their entirety. To not just envision the potential of future rangatira (chiefs), but to partner with the active and agentic authority of our students in real time. 

In the light of such reflection, we were introduced to the Bahasa Melayu phrase suara anak (children’s voice) and were privileged to see this partnership, par excellence, through the shared work of Malaysian cikgu (teachers) and students. The entire Student Summit, hosted and designed by Teach For Malaysia, was a truly impressive testament to effective student-adult partnership with all of the activities facilitated this way. We sampled the fruits of this partnership as close to 100 anak (youth) from all over Malaysia exhibited project work on a range of pressing community issues such as:

• Conservation (turtles, tapirs)
• Education (supporting neurodiverse learners, support for algebra)
• Waste management (recycling cooking oil and plastic waste)
• Cyber-safety (cyber-scam education and cyber-bullying)

Strikingly, so much of this work foregrounded community engagement and communal kōrero (dialogue, conversation). Whether it was public movie screenings, partnership with local authorities, or carefully-wrought Instagram accounts, all the young people who engaged us in kōrero were brimming with innovation around societal reach and the hustle to make it happen.

Having been blessed thus with the utmost manaakitanga (hospitality)—through endless plates of nasi lemak and generous sharing of ideas—reciprocity calls for an expression of gratitude. In moments, we were able to respond with waiata (song), but this was humble recompense for the generosity of our hosts. What we can commit to is honouring the suara (voices) that spoke so loudly and clearly to us during this experience. We can commit to working with our tauira (students) in increasingly authentic student-adult partnerships, with the hopes of having more to share when we meet again.