Elizabeth Kite is an advocate, environmentalist [1] and a leader in the Pacific region from Tonga, who founded Take The Lead, Tonga's first youth-led Non Government Organisation, that empowers the voices of young and vulnerable people in Tonga. [2] In 2017 she was presented with a Queens Young Leader Award, and in 2023 became Tonga's first Obama Foundation Scholar, at Columbia University, New York. [3]
Kite was born in New Zealand, but grew up in London [4] then Tonga, where she attended primary school, and in Australia, where she attended secondary school. [5] [6] In 2013 she moved to Tonga to work for non-governmental organisations there. [5]
In 2017 Kite founded Take The Lead, [7] formerly known as Tonga Youth Leaders, an organisation that enables young Tongans' voices to be amplified through training and grant provision. [8] In 2018 Kite spoke out about the issues surrounding drug use for young people in Tonga. [9] In September 2018 Take The Lead launched its She Leads Fale Alea (Parliament) programme, officially launched by the late Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu, the Pacific Islands only practice parliament for female youth [10] [11] Its mission is to address the low representation of women in Tongan politics. [11]
In 2017 Kite was awarded a Queen's Young Leader Award, in recognition of her work on community empowerment. [12] [13] Her award was presented by Queen Elizabeth II. Kite wore a traditional tapa which her mother had worn when the Queen first visited Tonga in 1953. [14]
Kite served as the Pacific Regional Representative for the Commonwealth Youth Council from 2018 - 2021. [11]
In 2022, she became the first Tongan and Pacific Islander invited to speak as a special guest at the Commonwealth Day Service, hosted by the Royal Commonwealth Society at Westminster Abbey. [15]