Winner of:
Excellence in Digital Local Government Award

Buzzly – Aotearoa’s digital youth engagement and insights platform

Buzzly is Aotearoa’s digital youth engagement and insights platform, specifically designed to bridge the gap between young people and local government. Developed collaboratively by Auckland Council, Datacom, AWS, and Mission Ready HQ, Buzzly transforms traditional youth consultations into interactive, and incentivised digital experiences.

Through creative “Challenges,” Buzzly empowers youth to contribute opinions on issues like climate change, health, elections, transport, and education. Every idea is rewarded, incentivising participation and ensuring diverse voices are heard. The platform leverages AI-driven analytics to analyse submissions and generate insights, enabling local governments to make more informed decisions.

Buzzly is a scalable solution that modernises civic engagement, moving beyond traditional consultation methods. It ensures inclusive participation by providing a safe, accessible, and youth-friendly space for input. Since its launch, Buzzly has demonstrated strong engagement, rewarding over 400 youth contributions and providing valuable insights for council projects.

By integrating technology with social innovation, Buzzly redefines youth engagement and creates a model that can be adopted by other local authorities looking to digitise and enhance their consultation processes.

See more award winning entries

Excellence in Community Engagement

Whirinaki Managed Retreat

Northland Regional Council
In Whirinaki, Te Hikutū Hapū, supported by Northland Regional Council, led a proactive, hapū-driven managed retreat to address severe flood risk. Using mātauranga Māori and the PARA framework, the community
Award Year: 2026
Read more
Excellence in Environmental Leadership
Supreme Award

Pathways to the Sea Strategy – Ngā Rerenga ki te Moana

Waikato District Council
Waikato Regional Council’s Ngā Rerenga ki te Moana Strategy improves safe fish passage through flood infrastructure, especially pump stations that harm native tuna. Based on six years of research with
Award Year: 2026
Read more
Excellence in Collaborating for Results
Supreme Award

Transfer of Ownership of Panepane Purakau

Western Bay of Plenty District Council
This initiative involved the Council returning 172 hectares of land known as Panepane Purakau to the five hāpu of Matakana Island through a negotiation and a significant community engagement process.
Award Year: 2021
Read more