A young east Aucklander is taking a strong stand against racism and cultural ignorance and receiving national acknowledgement for her courageous efforts.
Jordyn Joy Pillay, a year 12 student at Ormiston Senior College, entered this year’s Race Unity Speech Awards and her impassioned words and presentation of the message was judged the best out of 150 entries from other teenagers across the country.
“Every year the Race Unity speeches are focused on promoting racial unity and to address race relations in Aotearoa,” Jordyn, tells the Times.
“The theme this year was Te Moana Nui o te Kanorau – The Great Ocean of Diversity. My speech involved the metaphor of I am the Ocean.
“I portrayed humanity as the ocean because sometimes we can be so welcoming and calm, but at other times we could just drown others out in hatred.
“This is the true state of racism in humanity, always contradicting and changing.
“In my speech I spoke about tangible effective ways to help see increased cultural diversity within our school and communities,” says the 16-year-old.
“I also shared personal experiences about how racism labelled me as incompatible, but we all have a voice and a story that deserves to be heard.
“The main message of my speech was simply to ask questions about the cultures around you.
“I proposed the thought, what if every single one of us took a minimum of just eight minutes to change a life and listen to someone’s story, what a difference we would see.”
At a positively uplifting ceremony at Ormiston Senior College, where she delivered her speech to a capacity auditorium filled with fellow students, Pillay received Tohu Raukura ā-Motu – the NZ Police National Champion’s Award, and Tohu Whetumatarau – the Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ Award for Vision.
Ormiston Senior College principal Tim Botting was also proud to receive on behalf of the school the Police’s school award.
There were 14 entries by Ormiston Senior College students in this year’s Race Unity Speech Awards, a new school record.
At the presentation, Rakesh Naidoo, the national partnerships manager – ethnic, iwi and community partnerships for NZ Police, talked of the organisation’s pride to “honour such an outstanding student” in Jordyn and the message she is conveying.
NZ Police has sponsored the Race Unity Speech Awards since 2008, a competition originally launched by the New Zealand Baha’i community 25 years ago.
“It takes a lot of courage to stand up and speak out against racism and to lead change,” Naidoo said.
Botting talked to the audience of teenagers, stating “it’s really powerful what Jordyn is saying”.
“Every single person here has a voice. You are all individuals. What you bring to the school is yourself.
“Be proud of who you are. You all bring value,” said Botting.
One statistic that stood out in Jordyn’s speech is that Ormiston Senior College has students of 180 ethnicities, which would make it one of the most culturally diverse schools in New Zealand.
She with her family arrived to live here from South Africa in March 2023.
“This achievement has definitely topped most accolades I have so far,” says Jordyn.
“This was my opportunity to learn about the culture of New Zealand, so when I heard of the opportunity, I grabbed it with both hands.
“It taught me that when you truly work hard and persevere, God will definitely reward you.
“Personally, this deepened my faith in God, as it was only because of him and in his strength that I was able to achieve this.
“It taught me that I’m stronger than I think and that every voice, no matter how small, has the power to create change.
“By participating in this competition, I got to strengthen bonds of culture, connection and community,” Jordyn says.
“Not only was I able to represent my culture I was warmly accepted by so many other beautiful cultures around me.
“I got to meet the most inspirational people and learn so much about different heritages.
“I connected with people through our sense of identity and belonging and had meaningful conversations about what it means to truly connect and belong.
“For months, I’ve struggled finding a community that I belong in, but Race Unity has become more than a competition. It’s become a family, a community.”
Jordyn says her commitment to encouraging better understanding of cultures and improving race relations is motivated by her awards success.
“If there’s one thing this competition has taught me, it’s that it never stops at the end of your speech.
“I was given a stage to share my futuristic goals and make a real impact in terms of race relations in Aotearoa.
“To me, racial unity comes from connection. People need to feel that they belong in order to actually live in harmony,” she says.
“We need to get to know each other. So many people are overlooked, but when you hear their story, you understand how much your cultures have in common.”
Jordyn says she’s forming a Race Relations Club at Ormiston Senior College.
“This will give rangatahi a stage to let their story be heard.
“I plan on working closely with Race Unity to execute a platform that promotes racial unity and particularly motivates the voices of rangatahi.”
Long-term, after graduating from school, Jordyn wants to work in areas that she can be a people’s advocate.
“I plan on working in international relations and law when I finish year 13, giving me potential pathways to work in the United Nations and travel for my passions,” she says.
“I’d also love to get my own organisation started, which is currently in the works.
“An organisation that equips all youth with a pathway and actionable steps to make their voices heard.
“I want to take the stand and take the first step, because we can change generations to come once we understand that It All Starts with You and the steps you take.”
- For an earlier Times’ story about Jordyn Joy Pillay and her success in the Race Unity Speech Awards, read: https://www.times.co.nz/news/ormiston-college-student-wins-race-unity-speech-awards/
Jordyn Joy Pillay’s winning speech for Race Unity 2025:
Amandla awethu, Amandla awethu, Power is Ours!
This is what my people in South Africa cried out, for freedom and diversity.
Te Moana Nui o te Kanorau, The ocean wide and vast,
Stretched out to an infinite limit,
Mysterious, unpredictable, sometimes so tranquil and then so fierce,
I look at the ocean… it scares me, I have to admit.
I’m oblivious, unheeding and in complete confusion…
I pause, I look into the ocean… then so reflective, so transparent.
Wait… I am the ocean,
I am the ocean… I stretch out wide,
My attitude, my thoughts, behavioural responses, emotions… I cannot hide,
Wide and vast I cover the earth, like the waters there’s many of us,
I am the ocean, I cannot be read,
I am calm and soothing and so accepting.
Come to me… I’ll bring you peace. I see no difference.
I’m home to fins and feathers, skin and scales… home to many, I freely give.
I welcome you warmly. Abide in me.
I am the ocean, strong… influential,
Yet I don’t see my strength,
The influence and impact I can cause by taking the first step,
Wait, stop…
Today I despise you all. I feel like a whirlpool. Be my victim.
I take delight in seeing you squirm, hands stretched out crying for my help,
But I kick you in the face and see you drift away,
Deeper and deeper until you sink… at the bottom of my floor,
Helpless I’m tossing like wild waves to and fro,
Can’t make up my mind how to be, to embrace or not,
I am the ocean… I am not free,
I’m never accepted for truly being me,
I stop to look. A deep look into me.
Am I truly open to diversity?
Oh no I’m not, I’m not portraying authenticity,
Why, oh, why would I be so fake?
I’m tired of trying, I’m tired of persevering,
I’m even tired of telling people to try. It doesn’t help.
Tired, tired, tired that we claim to be accepting and diverse,
But yet all we’re committed to is us… ourselves…
Where is the cultural identity we need to embrace?
The struggles we’re not afraid to face,
I’m just so tired of discrimination and exclusion,
Wanting Approval and then Segregation,
I’m still looked at incompatibly,
This world has hardened me just as they have everybody.
I’m so tired of the racism that killed 51 people in the Christchurch shootings.
Tired of the same racism that ignored the voice of George Floyd.
And I’m so tired of the same segregation that tells my people to go back to where we came from.
And I’m so sick and tired of the same discrimination that forced me, a new migrant, just two years ago to spend my lunch breaks in the school toilets.
Why? Because of this (points to face), but what about this (points to heart), and this (points to head) and this (points to mouth and voice).
Does it not matter to you?
I am the ocean, I am us, always changing, never sure.
Always contradicting, there is no cure,
I am the ocean, I am us,
Wanting what’s best just for me,
When actually there’s many similarities,
Oh I see it so clearly… Te Moana Nui o te Kanorau,
The importance of inclusivity and acknowledging the value of different perspectives, experiences, and talents that individuals bring to a community, or just to me… yes to me.
“Elke druppel in die oseaan bring sy eie waarde, net soos elke kultuur ons wêreld verryk. – (Afrikaans Proverb)
“Every drop in the ocean brings its own value, just as every culture enriches our world.”
I’m better because of you. I’m stronger when we’re together.
(Walks over to someone in the crowd)
I am the ocean, I am us,
We are the ocean, together we mean much,
One action, one move of acceptance.
One gesture, one reaction of kindness,
“umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”. – (Zulu Proverb)
I am because you are and you are because I am,
How can we play our part in creating a world that is more diverse?
Like the tides wash away the old and let go of the barriers that separate us.
Like the currents we should flow together in unity.
Like the waves, we must rise together – amplifying the unheard,
Shaping a world where diversity is a force, not just a gesture.
Diversity must be more than a moment – it must be a movement.
So I challenge you: Ask questions about the cultures around you.
Like the outfit I’m wearing today – every stitch, every bead and every colour has a story.
South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation,
Every colour symbolises the different races coming together in unity.
These colours represent the African National Congress which is a political party that was led by Nelson Mandela who fought so hard for our freedom.
I encourage you to ask others about their story.
During the regionals I had the opportunity to meet an inspirational woman, MP of Takanini Rima Nakhle.
So when I got home that evening I did some research and discovered that she is of Lebanese origin.
And it hit me, I know nothing about Lebanese culture. So where are you?
I want to hear your voices, tell me your story,
Today, I took the first step by incorporating te reo,
Maori in my speech because I want to learn more about this culture, so I took the first step.
I challenge you to do the same.
Nelson Mandela said: It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.
In my speech today, I have challenged myself – and I have challenged you.
Now, I challenge the education system.
I propose culturally inclusive curriculums, where every lesson weaves in different cultures and histories – not just during Diwali, not just during Black Lives Matter Month – but every single day.
I also want to implement Student Voice Panels – a weekly time where students can gather and hear one of our own share their story.
No professionals, no authority figures – just real experiences from our rangatahi.
At Ormiston Senior College in Flat Bush, we have 180 different ethnicities – yet I can only name a handful. That has to change.
I want to hear the stories. I want to hear the voices.
So you’ve all heard my speech, loud and clear.
But all this, it means nothing, if we don’t practice what we preach.
It took me just eight minutes to influence you – to get you to listen to what I have to say.
Today, standing before you, are 21 rangatahi of New Zealand,
All convincing you that racism is a cause worth fighting for.
Now do the math – that’s 168 minutes spent today talking about cultural diversity.
And I know, without a doubt, we have influenced you.
You will leave this event motivated, and uplifted.
Now imagine if every single person – not just here, but across Aotearoa – took just eight minutes to change a life.
5,311,100 people. Eight minutes each.
What a difference we could make.
Again I say: Ask questions. Talk about who you are.
We need to come together as one in unity.
For change will not come just from an individual but collectively.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini.
My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.
Thank you.
