Lay summary
Young people belong to multiple shifting identities. With the increasing diversity of young people in recent decades, there is an urgent need for more nuanced understandings of the multiplicity of identities, experiences, and health and wellbeing of ethnic minority youth in Aotearoa. Addressing previous research limitations, our study engages with Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African youth to explore how their varying social identities, including gender diversity, sexuality, migration, and interactions with health, education and social sectors, intersect with their lived experiences of being from non-dominant ethnic groups. We propose an innovative, creative, co-designed approach using quantitative, qualitative and knowledge translation methods to first delineate and then find strengths-based solutions to overcome implications arising from prevalent public discourses, racism and marginalisation. Our overall goal is to engage with young people with ‘insider experiences’ to stimulate health promoting environments where ethnic minority youth can thrive and flourish as citizens of Aotearoa.