Youth MP honours her mum’s legacy through Te Reo advocacy  

By Andrea McEntyre, Youth Press Gallery, Youth Parliament 2025

Photo Caption: Sophie Dodunski, Youth MP

Te reo Māori wasn’t a language Sophie Dodunski grew up speaking, but in the quiet moments, walking her dog through still roads, on the edge of New Plymouth, or sitting with her grandparents just next door, it lingers in her thoughts like an echo. A language she didn’t know before, yet one that now feels like a thread to something greater. Something lost, and worth finding again.

A year 12 student at New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Dodunski is representing Labour MP Glen Bennett at Youth Parliament 2025. Her chosen Kaupapa, addressing the barriers to the widespread adoption of te reo Māori, is deeply personal, beginning with the legacy of her mum.

In 2021, Sophie’s mother passed away after a long rehabilitation journey, one that led her to reconnect with her Māori heritage. Through her funeral, she incorporated Māori practices and history to express the pride she felt in her whakapapa. That expression left a lasting impact.

“I was very proud of her,” Sophie says. For her, Te reo is more than just a language. It represents connection, identity, and everything she was trying to reclaim.

In preparation for the event, Dodunski has launched a community survey and hopes to engage with local schools and marae to gather a range of perspectives on te reo Māori and cultural education. Her focus is clear: understanding not just the barriers to language adoption, but the reasons behind them.

“I see a lot of road signs and public resources being translated into te reo Māori, and some people don’t like that. I think it’s important to understand why,” she says. “We can’t build a future around te reo if we don’t understand the resistance and find ways to bridge that.”

Dodunski’s vision is centered on education. Her school introduced compulsory te reo Māori studies for Year 9 students, a move she describes as a “great first step.” But she believes more consistent; nationwide support is needed, starting in early childhood and continuing throughout high school.

“It shouldn’t be optional,” she says. “If you grow up thinking of te reo Māori as something separate from your everyday life, it will always stay that way.”

Despite not growing up in a political household, Dodunski’s journey into youth advocacy began long before Youth Parliament. Since the age of ten, she’s held leadership roles and has become increasingly interested in social issues, especially those tied to human rights and family law.

“I’m passionate about child representation,” she says. “I want to study law and work in family court settings to make sure young voices are actually heard.”

Outside of school and politics, Dodunski finds joy in her small community of around 87,000. Bike rides with her dog, crafts and painting, singing in her student led A Cappella quartet, and visiting her grandparents, who happen to be her only neighbours.

“I’ve been lucky enough to know a small, but mighty number of individuals,” she says, while explaining her immense gratefulness for all the generous support her community has offered her.

“When I was publicly introduced by Glen Bennett as his Youth MP, I received very kind words of encouragement from Labour supporters during a fundraising event.”

When Dodunski applied for Youth Parliament, she didn’t know much about it, but found the application prompt very intriguing:

“Imagine New Zealand in 2040, commemorating 200 years since the signing of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. How would these commemorations reflect, honour and embody Aotearoa in 2040?”

Following the Treaty Principles Bill, this really caught her eye, “It got me thinking about my own thoughts on the cultural aspects of New Zealand, and how they’re being reflected currently.”

What grounds her activism is not just a desire to honour her mother’s legacy, but to carry it forward for generations to come.

“I want to focus on the younger generations,” she says. “We are the future. If we use te reo Māori casually, naturally, then we can pass it on. It can live again.”

Her favourite whakataukī, one she carries with her into Parliament, speaks to this vision:

Ko tōu reo, ko tōku reo, te tuakiri tangata. Tīhei uriuri, tīhei nakonako.

Your language and my language are expressions of identity. May our descendants live on and our hopes be fulfilled.

For Sophie Dodunski, te reo Māori is not just an issue of culture. It is built from identity, memory, and possibility. At the beginning of July, in the halls of Parliament, she’ll speak not just for herself, but for those who came before her, and those still learning to find their voice.