Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
We love being able to connect with our community through different events and activities! Being able to hear our communities stories, and share kōrero with one another is so incredibly important to us. Check out some of our recent community engagements below, and find out how to get in touch with us to come to your community event!
On December 2nd 2023 we completed our first ever yarn bomb outside of the East Coast Bays Library in Browns Bay. We created this yarn bomb for survivors as a symbol of hope, healing, and togetherness. The idea behind the installation is that this will help to normalise conversations about sexual violence, and encourage meaningful dialogue that can help survivors to feel seen, believed, and supported by their community.
Our yarn bomb installation outside of the East Coast Bays Library
Four of our team attended and presented at Involve, the biggest youth conference in Aotearoa, speaking about youth-led approaches to social change to an audience of young people, youth workers, and advocates. We shared how Dear Em creates a safe and empowering space for young people to take the lead, and how the team work in partnership with one another. Our Embassadors were also able to share about their experiences of being in the team, and some of the projects they have been able to initiate and achieve in partnership with Dear Em.
The Dear Em team presenting at the 2023 Involve Conference
Guest lecturing at the University of Auckland
In 2022 and 2023 we were invited to the University of Auckland to present to a group of students studying towards becoming school counsellors and share our expertise and lived experience as young people.
Our team at the National Sexual Violence Conference in November 2022
We travelled to the National Sexual Violence Conference in Wellington to present on "Working with Adolescents: A Youth Led Approach", where we focused on discussing how those in the sexual violence sector can foster partnership with young people to work together and create meaningful change. We shared about our own model of partnership we use at Dear Em, and how we structure our team safety to empower each other as leaders.
The wonderful panel of experts and change makers who spoke at our Kōrero & Kai event
We hosted a panel, alongside Thursdays in Black, featuring Minister Marama Davidson alongside other experts and change makers, around transformative change in educational and youth spaces, where we discussed tangible actions that young people can take to advocate for and contribute towards a society that upholds justice for survivors.
We love opportunities to share important kōrero and connect with our communities.
Some of the key topics that we are able to come and speak on are:
Sexual and gender-based violence
Youth mental health
Youth leadership and advocacy
Our expertise as young people
If you are interested in having Dear Em speak at your school, event, or for anything else, please contact us at hello@dearem.nz