3 May 2005
Youth summit to challenge alcohol and drug stereotypes
Auckland City Youth Council (ACYC) and Community Action on Youth and Drugs (CAYAD Auckland Central) are proud to present
Converse 05, the inaugural ACYC Urban Youth Summit on Friday 13 May as part of Youth Week.
This project has been organised in partnership with The Mental Health Foundation, Youthline, and Road Safety Auckland
City.
The theme of the summit, Re:defining the culture around alcohol and drugs, is in response to this year’s Youth Week
theme, RE:DEFINE Challenge youth stereotypes.
Peer and social leaders aged between 15 and 18 from each of the city’s high schools and alternative education providers
will attend the summit, which is being held at The Auckland Performing Arts Centre (TAPAC).
Auckland City Youth Council member Mel Cripps says: “The summit aims to inspire young people to challenge stereotypes
surrounding youth culture and express how we see ourselves rather than how society sees us.”
The summit will feature keynote speakers on youth culture and perceptions, followed by workshop sessions on alcohol and
drug issues. There will also be graffiti art by Disruptiv and performances by Spacifix and Incursa.
Shirley Allan, a facilitator of CAYAD, says: “It is in creating this forum that we hope to address some of the more
serious issues facing our young people. We aim to look hard at the realities of the youth drug and alcohol culture,
particularly in an urban New Zealand context, and then start to try and find ways that we can all contribute towards
making positive, sustainable change.”
Youth Week is an international awareness project to celebrate and promote young people being healthy in body, mind and
soul. This year, in New Zealand it runs from 9 to 15 May, and is coordinated by The New Zealand Association for
Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD).
ENDS