Pacific experts reflect on the relevance and impact of Ardern's address to US students

Pacific activists and political commentators in New Zealand say former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern’s address at Yale University is timely in the context of political division.

Ardern delivered her speech to Yale graduates in New Haven, Connecticut, on Monday, New Zealand time, emphasising humility, cooperation, and the dangers of isolationism in the United States, particularly during Donald Trump's presidency.

Her speech included a Māori whakatauke, or proverb: “Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōnā te ngahere, Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōnā te ao - The bird that consumes the miro berry owns the forest, The bird that consumes knowledge owns the world.”

Ardern reflected on her experiences with impostor syndrome. “In the same way that fear is a tool of politics against our long-term self-interest, so is isolationism, the illusion that closing yourself off from the world somehow means you are simply prioritising your own people, because it ignores how connected we are."

Reactions to her speech were mixed, reflecting Ardern’s polarising effect in New Zealand. But her representation of Aotearoa on the global stage was widely celebrated.

Shaneel Lal, an LGBTQ rights activist and political commentator, says Ardern’s calls for unity are especially pertinent amid rising political division at home and abroad.

“As the fabric of our society is being pulled at by a government seemingly intent on division, those words couldn’t be more timely. We need unity, not more fractures,” Lal says.

Richard Pamatatau, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Auckland University of Technology, appreciated Ardern’s address, particularly the inclusion of te reo Māori at the beginning.

He commended Ardern for addressing major issues, including criticism of US isolationism under the Trump administration.

Watch Dame Jacinda Ardern's full speech below.

“For the American, the Yale audience, she was honouring the indigenous language here in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Pamatautau says. “Her statements are quite courageous, given that she's in the United States, which at the moment, seems to be in a period of a mix of unrest and then extreme certainty.”

Pamatatau says Ardern’s global influence is significant, possibly greater than that of any previous prime minister. He says her focus on connection is important for people around the world.

“She has a global footprint that is huge and arguably possibly bigger than any prime minister we've had before, and she has the voice and she has the ears of so many people,” he says.

“It's very easy to look inwards and become isolated, but she doesn't think that's viable or the right thing to do, and her talk about being connected is really, really important, alongside that being responsible.”

Pamatatau says reactions to Ardern can be mixed among New Zealanders, highlighting her polarising effect following her exit from politics in 2023.

Dame Jacinda Ardern. Photo/Yale College

“People who think she is the worst thing that has ever happened to New Zealand absolutely hated her speech, and those who think that she is arguably the best prime minister we've ever had liked what she had to say.

“You can't argue with the fact that the way people see Dame Jacinda Ardern is polarising, and the reaction to her speech was what you would expect,” he says.

J’adore Harris-Tavita, a New Zealand student at Duke University in North Carolina, found Ardern’s speech a reminder of her leadership during some of Aotearoa’s most challenging times.

While Harris-Tavita found the speech moving, she felt it was “fleeting”, and noted that there could have been sharing from Ardern's experience as a leader.

“I can sit here comforted by the familiarity of her voice, reminiscent of the unprecedented times she led us through as our former Prime Minister, but to stop there would miss the point,” Harris-Tavita says.

The former New Zealand Prime Minister addresses students at Yale. Photo/Yale College

Pamatatau says that young and emerging leaders in New Zealand appreciate Ardern’s leadership style, which varies according to personal beliefs about leadership.

“Those people who are great believers in empathetic politics and kindness will see Ardern as a remarkable and extraordinary politician,” he says.

Regardless of differing opinions about the former prime minister, Pamatatau says Ardern represents Aotearoa on the global stage.

“Whatever you think about her, [she] is out repping New Zealand as best she possibly can, and that is something to be celebrated,” he says.

Ardern is preparing to release her memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and is set to embark on a book tour across the US next month.