Dunedin Youth Council Appointed

Dunedin (Friday, 14 August 2015) – Young people in Dunedin have a new voice.

The members of the Dunedin Youth Council for 12 to 17 year olds have been selected and will meet for the first time in early September.

The Youth Council has been established by the Dunedin City Council’s Youth Participation Advisory Group so young people aged 12 to 17 can become better informed about civic issues and participate more in the running of the city.

Group Chair Cr Aaron Hawkins is excited by the potential the group has to be leaders in their “The calibre of the applicants was very high and they were from diverse backgrounds. The selection panel had to make some very difficult choices.

“The one thing they have in common is their passion for Dunedin and preserving it for the generations to come.”

The Group received 31 applications. Two King’s High School students have been selected, to ensure continuity of representation through until the middle of next year. The same approach will be taken with St Hilda’s Collegiate and Kaikorai Valley College, whose current representatives are also Year 13 students.

At this stage, the Dunedin Youth Council representatives for 2015/16 are:

Tyler Proctor Otago Boys High School

Joe Garry John McGlashan College

Irie Simpson St Hilda’s Collegiate School

Christina Weston Kavanagh College

Nathaniel Brown Kaikorai Valley College

Jahoon Mun and Nathan Farr King’s High School

Alana Donkin Otago Girls High School

Jessica Ryan Taieri College

Louise Nicholson Queen’s High School

Emilia Haszard Bayfield High School

Liberty Thein-Pye Te Aho Te Kura Pounamu/Correspondence School

Caroline Moratti Columba College

Grant McNaughton Logan Park High School

Kalib Rule Community College Dunedin

The establishment of the Youth Council is the last of three initial projects to be rolled out.

Cr Hawkins says like the Leaders of Tomorrow Roadshow and the recent Youth Vote, the Youth Council will involve Dunedin’s young people in project design and implementation.

“The decisions we make today have a huge impact on our younger citizens, so it’s essential that they’re active in helping us make them.”

In June, the DCC received $51,500 from the Ministry of Youth Development and this will be used to fund a Youth Council Activator to support the Youth Council and its activities.

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