Porirua City Council's youth-centred approach to long-term planning has been endorsed at the national level, with a major honour awarded today, 8 May 2020.

From a large number of other councils' entries from across New Zealand, Porirua City Council won the Tompkins Wake Award for Better Policy and Regulation by the NZ Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) for delivering the strategic priority - children and young people.

"At the Heart of Our City: Strategic Framework for Children and Young People in Porirua" has been a strategic priority in the city since 2015, as the Council recognised that people 25 years and under make up nearly 40 per cent of the city's population.

"The framework was developed to support our young people and address some of the disparity between kids living a good life in Porirua, and those facing significant challenges," says Mayor Anita Baker.

"It’s helped to improve the wellbeing of our young people in health, education, connection and participation."

Council Chief Executive Wendy Walker says in 2015 Porirua’s Mayor and elected members focused on tamariki and rangatahi well before it became popular with other organisations and it’s something they can be proud of.

"Key for our council has been building real relationships with our young people, to discover their concerns and aspirations and make a positive impact in their lives. A youth-centred wellbeing approach is now part of our organisational culture and the framework demonstrates the impact that Council can have on young lives."

Ms Walker says receiving the award is an endorsement of all the work put in by many across Council.

The award's judges praised the framework for successfully linking the framework with their wider long-term plan objectives.

"As well as the clear linkages between the project and the Council’s long-term plan objectives, Porirua also drew on a number of central government and community agencies in a coherent way", says Raymond Horan, SOLGM’s Chief Advisor.

"Along with meticulous design of its monitoring and evaluation, it is a great example of how a council can influence community outcomes without taking a huge role in service delivery."

To view the Council's video entry, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lNvcYiSCYg

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