Shamabil Yacob

In our data, for example,

I was really surprised that one of the strongest predictors of good social cohesion, both aspiration and experience, was being religious.

Well, it's very hard to say to people that you should become more religious, right?

It sounds a bit moralising.

But at the same time, I think it's more the types of people and the activities that they take.

You know, you're mixing with a cross-section of New Zealand.

You are mixing with people but with a shared purpose.

There are ways to work together across difference.

There is leadership that's in the community and visible and almost tangible here.

So religiosity is not the only thing.

It's also those people who are going to sporting clubs, also going to the local knitting club, whatever.

It's that ability to come together and holding complexity together, holding difference together and still being able to have a conversation, even if we do differ a little bit on politics or how we look or what, it doesn't matter.

But that's the, I think to me, it's not religion per se, but it's that bit of being able to come together despite our differences.

In fact, because of our differences.

The thing that really encouraged me was the sense of hope amongst young people.

Last year, we didn't have enough time to do the kind of deep dive, but this time we spent a lot of time mining the data to kind of ask ourselves, you know, what does it look like?

What could we do?

Is there a foundation for change?

And that sense of optimism and hope amongst young people, despite the conditions they experience, to me feels like is the very foundation for change that we need.

Because they are the ones who are going to carry the change and they are the ones who are going to bear the consequences of the change.