Leadership Network member's global communications

Will: “Everything I’ve done that is Asia-focused, I’ve engaged with the Foundation and Leadership Network members every step of the way.” 

Will has always been driven to pursue a life where he can wake up and truly love what he does. When he applied this requirement to choosing a career, communications stood out to him. “I find the strategic use of communications to achieve outcomes and impact to be interesting, engaging, meaningful – and fun – especially when applied to issues that help people," he says. 

This passion for communications always sat alongside his dual interests in foreign affairs. He just grew up not knowing what to do with it. 

After completing an undergraduate degree at AUT in communications, majoring in Public Relations, Will started working in corporate and marketing communications in Auckland.  

Will's passion communications and global affairs has taken him around the world including a year working in Fiji in health communications

From working for New Zealand Fashion Week and PR agency Porter Novelli, Will’s life pivoted just after joining MediaWorks (TV3 at the time). 

Initially working on sponsorships like Red Nose Day, the International Comedy Festival, Fashion Week and others, over time Will started working more on news and current affairs marketing and communications. He was highlighting stories about New Zealand troops in Afghanistan, supporting journalists reporting from Gaza, South Sudan, and other conflict zones, and working with NGOs like UNICEF that partnered with news agencies.

He was suddenly whisked to a world of global affairs — the familiar long-standing passion he didn’t know quite what to do with. Between political investigations, global politics, and world news, he thought, “this is it’’. 

Will in Sudan where he worked in communications for the UN

TV3 created the conditions for an opportunity: “I saw I could take communications and international relations, and combine them with great impact."

Equipped with a renewed sense of purpose, Will embarked on a diploma in politics via, then a master’s degree in Global Diplomacy and International Relations. He did this alongside working full-time at TV3. When asked how he balanced this slightly Sisyphean pursuit, he answered, “Oh, I didn’t, especially when we launched the Paul Henry morning show, then rebranded 3News to Newshub."

His dissertation centred around Indonesia-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) foreign relations. Early connections to Indonesia built his fascination with the powerhouse archipelago nation. 

His mother’s business – a chain of furniture stores – had its products produced in Surabaya, Indonesia. “So from the age of about 10-17, I would go to Indonesia at least once a year, and spend a week in an open-air furniture factory in the forest, or travelling around nearby communities”, he describes. 

This sparked a love with southeast Asia’s most populous country – and inspired Will’s return throughout his master’s degree.  

With a new master’s degree, Will started working in communications for the US State Department. His work was focused on engaging stakeholders with US foreign policy. 

Will spent a year in Fiji working for the World health Organisation

“I was working a lot on strengthening engagement with Pacific communities — both in New Zealand and Pacific islands," he says. He also worked on science and technology, particularly around space – another area of personal passion.

He helped establish the NASA-NZ internship program, took a number of NASA astronauts around New Zealand (and the Cook Islands), and in his words, “travelled at high altitudes around Antarctica while a telescope took pictures of the centre of the galaxy."

His experience up to this point had been nudging him in the direction of joining an international organisation. A opportunity in Fiji working for the World Health Organisation would be his big break. 

Will: “Communications has a real potential to make an impact around health issues in particular..."

He spent one year in Fiji working on health communications for the whole Pacific region. In Fiji, he dealt with public health issues including a region-wide measles outbreak, as well as helping address vaccine hesitancy in multiple countries.

“Communications can make a tremendous impact on health issues — particularly in countries with a weaker health system”, Will says. 

It was in Fiji he also got to grips with the importance of cultural specificity — putting approaches over solutions and listening over advising. “You have to listen, to learn, and empower and support those who truly know the context," Will says. 

A stint working in Sudan for the UN Development Programme was cut short by civil war

Will left Fiji for Sudan, to work at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He arrived just after a change in government, as the country began a transition to democratic elections. “It was a very positive time for the country, despite the challenges still being faced,” he says. 

““Sudan is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to. The people are wonderful, welcoming and resilient”. Particular issues he worked on included peace and stabilisation, rule of law, renewable energy, climate resilience, and the democratic transition. 

After working there for two years, the new transition ultimately failed, and the country plunged into civil war. “It was a harsh reminder – almost everyone I knew lost everything,” he says. 

Will moved to Somalia amid the unfolding war in Sudan, joining the Norwegian Refugee Council in Mogadishu. He arrived during the worst drought in 20 years. “There is no other way to describe the situation – it was hellish," he says. 

A key focus bring international attention to the drought crisis. This was complicated by Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, and limited interest in Somalia’s recurring and cyclical natural disasters like drought and floods. 

“We had to be creative about how we engaged with decision makers and raised attention,” Will says. Somalia’s drought response ended up receiving more than US$700m [WS1] by the time his contract was up. 

 [WS1]Sorry it was $700m when I left, just checked! 

Will disembarking from a United Nations World Food Programme helicopter

After nine months in Somalia, Will returned to WHO again — this time in Laos. Will had previously travelled to the Southeast Asian country and knew he had to return. He says, “I knew I absolutely had to live there at some point. It was a non-negotiable." 

Now, his broad Laos mission is to use communications strategically to drive change. The domains are broad —from vaccines to air pollution, to community engagement, to tobacco tax policy. As Will says, “everything is intersectional. It’s never just a health issue.” 

Throughout his journey, a significant pillar of support has been Will’s membership in the Leadership Network.  

“Everything I’ve done that is Asia-focused, I’ve engaged with the Foundation and Leadership Network members every step of the way. Track II events, research, general networking, and the amazing calibre of talented and inspiring people around Asia that I can connect with - it’s been invaluable and meaningful.”

Over his 10 years of membership, the Foundation has been “an organisation I’ve connected with on such a constant, reliably positive basis — even though I felt guilty for not living in Asia for a bit”, he jokes. 

Now living in Asia and feeling a little less guilty because of it, Will describes life in Laos as “exactly as great as I imagined”.  

While still unsure where the future will take him, it appears Will Seal is no longer limited to his former 2-4 km world.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network equips the next generation of Kiwi leaders to thrive in Asia. We provide members with the connections, knowledge and confidence to lead New Zealand’s future relationship with the region.