Timi Barabas on the panel at the Non-profit Fund Con Summit in New York. Photo / Timi Barabas
Timi Barabas on the panel at the Non-profit Fund Con Summit in New York. Photo / Timi Barabas
A young woman once told she wouldn’t finish school will represent New Zealand at a major international forum.
Hamiltonian Timi Barabas is off to the US to represent New Zealand at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Barabas, 22, has been chosen as one of only three people under the age of 30 who will represent New Zealand at the Apec Multistakeholder Forum.
The forum, to be held in San Francisco from November 10 to 13, will bring together more than 150 leaders from the private sector and groups across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the global shift to Net Zero carbon economies.
The forum is a sideline event of the Apec Summit Leaders’ Week which will gather ministers and business leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific countries to discuss economic challenges.
“During my younger years, I was struggling in school due to learning disabilities and was told I couldn’t pass elementary or high school and make it to [university].”
In New Zealand, she attended Rototuna High School, learned English within a year and passed high school with good grades.
At the school, she set up an environmental council, launching composting and recycling programmes. After finishing high school, she founded a humanitarian organisation called Rise For Lives, a youth peace initiative.
Barabas has also recently co-founded InGoIn, a tech startup focused on mental health and social media productivity.
She said she wanted people to know they should follow their dreams.
“All the odds were against me making it to where I am today, and I want to use my story to inspire others to chase their wildest dreams and never give up no matter what.”
Meanwhile, Auckland-based Alexander Kuch, 28, is also part of the under-30 New Zealand delegation at the Apec forum.
He was born in post-Soviet Romania and started life in an orphanage. Kuch was adopted at the age of 2 years by a German family with whom he moved to New Zealand in 2006.
He said that due to mistreatment experienced at the orphanage, a psychologist predicted his early experiences would prevent him from leading a normal life, let alone finishing high school.
Alexander Kuch (right) with New Zealand Ambassador to Germany Craig Hawke at Anzac Day 2023 in Berlin.
Alexander and his family were determined to prove the psychologist wrong, and against all expectations, he not only completed high school but also graduated from the University of Auckland.
He was a semifinalist for Young New Zealander of the year in 2018 and recently opened a sustainability consulting company called M.Aurelius Consulting. Another notable achievement includes receiving an International Parliamentary Fellowship with the German Government.
Apec was established in 1989 as a regional economic forum to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific.
The 2023 Apec summit has the theme Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All. It is set to be attended by US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and incoming New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
