Te Aka Tauira, Issue eight, October 2023

OCTOBER 2023

ISSUE 08

#T EAKATAUIRA

TE AKA TAUIRA T HE OTAGO UNDERGRADUAT E MAGAZINE

Vote 2023 interviews, Barbie and Berry based acne supplements.

ISSUE 08

CONTENTS P4. VOTE2023 P8. THIS BARBIE’S JOB ISN’T JUST ‘BEACH’, SHE’S AN OUTSTANDING LIFEGUARD! P10. AWARD WINNING ENTREPRENEURS READY TO GROW THEIR BERRY-BASED BUSINESS

W W W.O TAGO. AC. N Z / O TAGOBUL L E T I N / UN DE RGRA DUAT E / 2

Come join us at the Hocken for a day of zine making! Zines are self-published publications that can be about anything at all, usually reproduced via photocopying for distribution. The Hocken has a great collection of local and nationally produced zines, some of which will be on display at this workshop. Drop in at any time from 11 am to get a taste of this collection and have a go at making your own zine. Materials provided.

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VOTE2023

BY STUDENTS, FOR STUDENTS THROUGH interviewing commentators and candidates, a team of Politics tauira are providing insightful, relevant, and accessible information on the issues that count for students.

The VOTE2023 project continues an Otago tradition of Politics students interviewing candidates.

Producer Liam says the series comes at a pivotal time for New Zealand’s political future.

VOTE2023 is a video series made by students, for students in the run-up to the election.

Sophie Woodham and Liam Connolly are producing the series, leading a team of 15 to 20 tauira who have volunteered for the project.

“I think it’s really important that people are engaged, and that we are asking questions that are relevant to students, and their futures.

“Having student voices asking those questions means that politicians can’t ignore them; they have to front up to the questions we are asking.

They have mustered an impressive line-up of candidates and commentators for interviews, including Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, Act Party Leader Winston Peters, Member for Taieri Labour Party Ingrid Leary, and more are being invited.

“I hope it provides a different angle on things than mainstream media.”

Producer Sophie says accessibility has been an important part of the project because

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youth voter turnout isn’t very high and a lot of the ways in which people traditionally learn about politics are inaccessible to students.

full range of representatives on the political spectrum to interview.

They are also aware of not giving anyone an easy ride in the interview, and balancing asking the tricky questions with respecting the answers provided.

“People aren’t sitting down and watching the television news or listening to the radio; that’s historically where people have found out about the elections.”

A team of researchers work to pull together background information on the interview subjects, as well as the topics students are particularly concerned about or affected by.

It’s for this reason, that VOTE2023 has lots of social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram which students are actually using, Sophie says.

During the filming, the researchers are on live chat with the interviewers providing supplementary information and prompts – it’s a lot to juggle in the studio.

“We are thinking about where students do get their news from.”

It’s important to the team to be non-partisan and seek a

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Photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash

The students have had the support of the crew at the Media Production Studio, including Team Leader, Lloyd Walker.

Peter has a background in journalism, and he arranged for journalist and presenter Jack Tame to give the students some interview tips.

Sophie and Liam are proof of the saying: “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”

“Lloyd has been great, he’s a superstar. He is so in control of studio and gave us so much of our own direction of where we want it to go,” says Sophie.

Sophie is majoring in Politics and Communications, with a minor in Science Communications. Liam is studying Law and a BA with Politics, minoring in Economics.

They are also supported by staff members in the Politics programme, particularly Dr Peter Grace, Dr David Jenkins, and master’s student Neki Haig.

See the series via these social media platforms: https://linktr.ee/vote2023otago 7

Maddy in the centre taking the photo.

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THIS BARBIE’S JOB ISN’T JUST ‘BEACH’

A HARD-WORKING volunteer surf lifeguard who also counts mentoring, fundraising and educating people about sea lion protection among the myriad tasks she does for the club, has been nominated for an Otago University Blues and Golds Outstanding Member of the Dunedin Community Award.

for her “outstanding contributions” to the season.

“I think lifeguarding is so important and encourage anyone who loves the beach to give it a try,” Maddy says.

Associate Dean of the College of Education, Dr Naomi Ingram, a fellow member of the Warrington Surf Life Saving Club community, says Maddy is a “special individual” whose mahi and care deserves recognition.

Last summer Maddy Ozanne spent 96 hours volunteering as a lifeguard as well as completing a multitude of other duties at the Warrington Surf Life Saving Club.

“She is one of the leaders of our surf lifesaving community. Despite only being 19-years-old, she leads our patrol teams of people much older than herself, ensuring we are trained, resourced and ready to keep the Warrington

The second-year Bachelor of Applied Science tauira’s lifeguarding prowess was recognised this year when she won the 2022/2023 season Lifeguard of the Year Award

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beach safe throughout the summer.

member of the Club, and by extension, the Warrington community”.

“She has an excellent sense of self, she is creative, warm, flexible and fair.”

Phoebe says her sister’s community-building endeavours range from wood chopping events to post-season cleanups.

Former chairperson of the Warrington Surf Club Charlotte Becconsall also says Maddy goes “above and beyond” in her role as a mentor to the younger members of the club.

“Maddy is present at and organises events from wood chopping and sausage sizzle fundraisers to the annual Christmas party.

“Her willingness to support and guide them in learning about beach safety makes a huge difference to our Club and wider community.

“She spent the entirety of a rainy week creating a huge photo memories wall to celebrate the Club’s community and achievements.”

“She serves as a positive role model, encouraging the next generation to follow in her footsteps and contribute meaningfully to our community.”

Her sister also says Maddy works closely with the Department of Conservation Sealion Programme, educating the public on the correct etiquette and ensuring the safety of the sea lions and pups throughout the patrol season.

Maddy’s sister, Phoebe Ozanne describes her as “a vibrant and passionate

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Maddy is the second from the left, pictured here with her lifeguard colleagues.

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Photo of barberries by Farrinni on Unsplash

BERRY-BASED BUSINESS SECOND year Bachelor of Entrepreneurship tauira and Dunedin locals Alex Livingstone and Abby Green are set to scale up the company they launched while still students at Bayfield High School.

Abalro imports barberries from Iran into Auckland where they are freeze dried to create a supplement powder which is sent to Dunedin for packaging and then distributed nationally.

“We’re ready for the next phase of growth for our company. We want to grow our customer base in New Zealand, and we’re now working with Startup Dunedin to achieve that,” Alex says.

Alex says he was inspired to bring barberries to New Zealand by a University of Michigan double blind study which showed that taking two teaspoons of the berries a day could reduce acne by 43 per cent in a month.

Personal experiences with the challenges that acne can bring led them to establish Abalro in 2020, under the Young Enterprise Scheme.

In 2022, they entered their company into the Audacious programme at Startup Dunedin run by the Dunedin City Council, Otago University and Otago Polytechnic/Te Pukenga.

“One of the main motivations behind the business is to help improve people’s mental health, by increasing their self-confidence – which can really take a dive when someone is suffering through acne,” Abby says.

At the end of the intensive eight-week programme alongside a cohort of 111 other students who hailed from 28 majors and minors and all levels of study, Abalro 13

won the Polson Higgs Premiere Award. Abby also won the Best Entrepreneur Award.

These awards build on a string of successes for Abalro that include being named the Young Enterprise Scheme’s company of the year and New Zealand Ambassadors for Youth Business at the World Expo in Dubai in 2021.

Success at the Audacious programme has delivered the duo to their next step - a coveted place in Startup Dunedin’s Distiller Incubator programme.

“We’re excited to be starting this programme, where we’ll have access to ongoing one-onone mentoring and support,” Alex says.

The young entrepreneurs were also recently awarded $15,000 in funding for marketing to support business expansion from He Kākano, a $2 million seed fund for young entrepreneurs aged 17 to 30 years, and is a partnership between Prince’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand and the Ministry of Youth Development.

“The Prince’s Trust want to come and present to Bachelor

of Entrepreneurship students and are keen to connect and help build networks through a collective approach,” Alex says.

Before launching Abalro and catching the entrepreneurial bug, Abby had planned to study law and finance and Livingstone was intent on engineering, but Otago Business School’s Bachelor of Entrepreneurship was the right fit for the direction they were heading.

“The degree has given us a lot of confidence in operating the business,” Abby says.

“The second-year papers are a bit more practical, especially the marketing paper.

“I can look back at what we’ve done so far in the business and recognise that a lot of our actions and decisions are aligned with the terms and concepts we’re studying now,” Alex says.

As for the future, Abby says, “once we’ve finished our degrees, we’ll both be focusing on Abalro, then heading wherever our passions take us”.

The Library is proud to announce the launch of the Diversify the Library initiative. This is a new service with the aim to make our collections better reflect the diverse community it serves. University staff and students are invited to request the purchase of books for the collection that reflect our Māori and Pacific communities and our university recognised equity groups. These requests need not be research or course related. For more information, you can go to our website here, or via the new tile on the library homepage.