Draft:Fania Kapao

Fania Kapao (born 17 July 2001) is a New Zealand left-wing politician and holds several leadership positions within youth branches of the New Zealand Labour Party, including Young Labour NZ and Princes Street Labour, where she is the current Chairperson, and the first of Polynesian descent.

Early Years
Kapao was bought up in Avondale, a central suburb of Auckland. She is the daughter of Cook Island and Samoan parents. She can trace her ancestry back to the famous Polynesian navigator Tupaia, who assisted Captain James Cook with his voyages around the pacific.

She became politically active in her high school years at ACG Sunderland, when she assisted with the organization of the New Zealand School Strike for Climate in 2018. In 2019, she was appointed as a Youth Member of Parliament by Labour MP Phil Twyford, representing the Te Atatū electorate.

She entered the University of Auckland in 2020 and graduated with a Bachelor of Global Studies, majoring in Global Politics and Human Rights in 2023. While studying, she helped re-establish the Auckland University Cook Island Student Association (AUCISA) in 2023.