HUTT CITY COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE

21 August 2016
Lower Hutt youth rapt to attend Teen Summit in Boston

Four Hutt Valley teenagers are now bursting with ideas to make more films and music after an eye-opening visit to the United States.

Eru Kepa, 13, Joel Alheit, 17, Michael Sanders, 14, and Ben Pomare, 14, attended the 2016 Teen Summit in Boston last month.

The Summit is organised by the international Clubhouse Network, which was founded by Boston’s Museum of Science and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Media Lab to give young people outside school the chance to be creative with technology. Activities at the clubhouses range from computer programing, video gaming and film-making to music, fashion, dance and design.

The four teenagers, who attend Hutt City Council’s clubhouses in Taita and Naenae, were among 150 young people from 17 countries at the six day summit. It also included behind-the-scenes visits to MIT and Google.

Eru and Joel, students at Taita College and Taita Clubhouse members, say the trip exposed them to different ways to create films.

“A really big thing was just working with other cultures and learning how to be able to work with anyone. It made me want to work really hard and stay focused,” says Joel.

Eru, who “thought it was just a place to chill and play on computers” when he joined Taita Clubhouse last year, says the summit has fired him up. “I’m working on three movies.”

Michael and Ben, who make and record music at Naenae Clubhouse, say they learned a lot from meeting and working with Clubhouse members from other countries.

“The people we met were really cool and we have kept in touch. I’m talking about a musical collaboration with some of them,” says Michael.

Ben, who has produced his own music on CD, says, “I got this idea to play on keyboard or piano and thinking of putting it on to a track.”

The four were accompanied by Taita Clubhouse coordinator Tom Johnson and Naenae Clubhouse coordinator Lily Chalmers.

Ms Chalmers says the four had a lot to do, including working with other members on projects. “It was pretty heavily scheduled from 7.30am to 11pm every day and the guys really enjoyed it. The summit has given them opportunities that are potentially life-changing.”

Mr Johnson says the trip has the potential for many positive spinoffs for the clubhouses and its members. “Joel wants to study in the United States so we are organising ways to get into a State-side university.”

ENDS

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