Ministerial press release

Thousands of young wāhine across the country will be given the opportunity to develop their confidence, resilience and leadership skills thanks to a collaboration between GirlBoss New Zealand and the Ministry of Education.

The GirlBoss Make Your Move programme includes a 10-day school holiday programme for 500 young wāhine aged 15-18, in-person activations in seven locations across the country reaching more than 10,000 young wāhine, and an interactive online course so women and girls in regional and rural Aotearoa New Zealand can also take part in the programme.

The Government has funded the programme as part of its strategic plan to leverage the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to create a lasting legacy for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the largest women’s sporting event in the world. Co-hosting an event of this magnitude provides us with a unique opportunity to generate significant social and economic benefits for our country,” said Minister for Sport and Recreation, Grant Robertson.

“The GirlBoss Make Your Move programme will leave a lasting impact on the lives of young wāhine across the country and is an excellent example of how government funding can help maximise the benefits of co-hosting such a significant event.”

The school holiday programmes uses sport and the event as a platform to encourage young wāhine to explore career pathways in psychology, sports science, advanced medicine, surgery and other related fields. Participants will have access to high-profile role models such as Psychologist Dr Hinemoa Elder and Mental Health Advocate, Jazz Thornton. They will also receive one-on-one mentoring sessions from a community of over 100 health and wellbeing professionals.

A key focus of the programme is on Māori and Pasifika participation and reaching young women who may not ordinarily be offered leadership and wellbeing development opportunities.

“Choosing a career is an important step in a young person’s life. Programmes like this often open doors for young people by exposing them to career pathways they may not have known were available to them,” said Minister of Education, Jan Tinetti.

GirlBoss founder and CEO, Alexia Hilbertidou says the organisation is thrilled to be able to use this funding to enhance the wellbeing of thousands of young women across the country to help them reach their full potential.

“Our mission is to support the next generation to proceed with confidence and direction. As New Zealand's largest network for young women, we celebrate this entrepreneurial partnership. We have already received overwhelming demand, excitement and support for this programme, with over 1000 young women and mentors already jumping on board. With the momentum of FIFA's Women's World Cup only set to increase, this will truly be the most exciting year for Aotearoa's women and girls,” said Alexia.

Sport New Zealand is also sponsoring a design challenge within the programme as part of the It’s My Move campaign, which encourages young women aged 12-18 to be more active. Over five days, participants will be required to find solutions to engage and retain young women in physical activity.

The GirlBoss Make Your Move initiative is the first project to be announced as part of the government’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 leverage and legacy programme.

The Government has set aside $10 million to support projects that will help achieve outcomes in four key focus areas: Mana Wāhine (raising the profile of women and girls in sport and wider society), Te Tanagata (thriving communities), Te Ao (enhancing our international relationships), and Ōhanga (economic growth). This is in addition to the more than $19 million announced last year to support upgrades at 30 sporting facilities across the country.

A number of other projects that will drive social and economic benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand in areas such as education, tourism, sport, culture, international relations, business, community, health and conservation will be announced over the coming months.