Better Communities.
Where systems change becomes community-powered.
About.
Stronger communities build a better world. Wao’s Better Communities workstream is about creating the conditions for collective action, where people feel connected, empowered, and inspired to shift the system from the ground up.
We partner with local organisations, schools, festivals, and individuals to co-create events, experiences, and opportunities that reconnect people to each other, to te taiao (the natural world), and to the future we’re all shaping together. Whether it’s providing bike parking at the Wānaka A&P Show, running a youth summit with Gen Wao, or leading a beach clean-ups, our goal is to create ripple effects that lead to deep, lasting change.
Our Vision.
A thriving, connected Southern Lakes where every person sees their role in a regenerative future and where collective action is woven into the fabric of daily life.
Our Mission.
To bring people together across generations, cultures, and communities to learn, share, and take action for climate, biodiversity, and wellbeing, shifting mindsets and strengthening relationships that enable systems change from the ground up.
What we do.
Community Events & Activations
From bike parking at the Wānaka A&P Show to waste-free initiatives at local festivals, we support practical shifts that make low-carbon living visible, viable, and fun.
Gen Wao – Empowering the Next Generation
Through leadership programmes, climate kōrero, school collaborations, Ride for Change and the UN Youth Summit, we’re creating space for rangatahi to lead and innovate.
Our Place
A collaborative initiative led by local organisations (including WAI Wānaka, Te Kākano, and Wao) to showcase the interconnectedness of land, water, biodiversity, and people through interactive experiences, like our shared stand at the A&P Show and educational community tours.
Community Tours & Walkshops
We host guided walks and rides through neighbourhoods and projects that showcase climate-positive homes and community-led solutions, making the invisible visible, and the possible practical.
Film Nights & Conversations
Our bi-monthly film screenings invite kōrero on justice, climate, identity, and community wellbeing, always followed by space for connection, reflection, and action.
Wao Summit: Better Communities Kōrero
The heart of our annual summit, these sessions draw our largest audiences and centres around storytelling, real-world projects, and big conversations about how we live, lead, and connect as a community.
Upcoming events.
Generation Wao
Powered by Wao, Generation Wao are an extension for the younger generation.
The youth represent a major player in what our future will look like, and Wao hopes to inspire the next generation.
Gen Wao is an all-inclusive space for young people to learn and help drive a positive future. Wao hosts multiple-events and projects for the younger generation throughout the year.
Please get in touch with us if you’d like to learn more, be involved or find out what we have coming up. Keen to learn more?
Email: genwao@wao.co.nz
Blog.
Speakers.
Key Partners.
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QLDC - Climate Action
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Kiwi Harvest
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Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust
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Community Link Upper Clutha
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Hawea Food Forest
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Grow Wanaka
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Lake Wānaka Tourism
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Queenstown
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Enviroschools
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Health New Zealand
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Wastebusters
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Wao
Keen to get involved?
Get in touch to find out more: kiaora@wao.co.nz