Roadshow to Encourage Leaders of Tomorrow

Dunedin (Monday, 2 March 2015) – The Dunedin City Council is changing the way it listens to young people.

For the past year the Youth Participation Advisory Group has been working on a project that will give the city's youth a meaningful voice in helping shape their community. Group Chair Cr Aaron Hawkins says this does not just relate to DCC activities, but to citizenship more broadly.

Cr Hawkins says, “Working with Dunedin’s fine young minds in building better engagement tools has been a tremendous privilege. It’s been critical that our approach has been youth-led, rather than top down, and for it to be successful we need to stay committed to that.”

The Group’s membership includes Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull, Cr Jinty MacTavish, DCC staff and people who work with young people in a range of settings, including representatives from schools, alternative education providers and youth support services.

In 2014, two workshops for young leaders were held, in August and October. The feedback from those workshops identified three projects to be rolled out in 2015.

1. Leaders of Tomorrow Roadshow: The roadshow will be a 10 minute presentation at high school assemblies and will cover what the DCC does and how it impacts on our everyday lives. The roadshow will also provide an opportunity for young people to get involved in Council activities.

There will be roadshow visits to 10 schools, starting on Tuesday, 3 March at Otago Girls High School in the morning and St Hilda’s Collegiate in the afternoon. Training providers with students aged 12 to 17 have also been approached, as has the home school collective, SHEAF.

2. Youth Vote: The intention of the Youth Vote is to involve young people in a democratic process, giving them the autonomy and responsibility to make a decision on a city project. Youth Vote will coincide with Youth Week 2015 (25 – 31 May). A potential city project has been identified and will be revealed at the roadshow visits.

3. Establishment of a Youth Council for 12 to 17 year olds: The Group wants to find ways in which young people aged 12 to 17 can become better informed about civic issues and participate more in the running of the city. To encourage this, it is hoped a Youth Council for this age group will be set up by July this year.

Cr Hawkins says, “The roadshow is about explaining all of the things the DCC does and encouraging young people to be more involved in our decision making. The Youth Vote project in May is an exciting opportunity for them to directly shape their community in a very visible way.”

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