NZUSA Media Release, 12 August 2013
Youth migration a focus of International Youth Day
Young people are in the spotlight today with the United Nations’ International Youth Day taking on the theme of youth
migration as a way to emphasise the positive contribution young migrants make to societies of origin, transit and
destination.
Pete Hodkinson, President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA), says that the contribution of
culturally diverse young migrants - many of whom in a New Zealand context are originally tertiary students - is
increasingly significant to all societies.
“With the number of overseas-born New Zealanders approaching 1 in 4, there is no question that migrants of all ages make
a huge contribution to New Zealand’s economy and by enriching our social and cultural fabric.
“The call put out for International Youth Day this year by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is that stakeholders
like the tertiary education sector should do their bit to promote the rights of all young migrants and to maximize the
development potential of youth migration.
For students, Hodkinson says it is something we should all be thinking about. For our academic institutions it is an
on-going challenge.
“Education will need to play a significant role in finding the answers. How we educate our communities to participate
effectively in the economies of the 21st century and at the same time educate an increasingly diverse society to feel
some kind of cultural identity will surely be a hallmark of educational performance”.
As its contribution to the day the Commonwealth Students Association (CSA) is launching its official website and will
begin to implement strategies that will give a greater voice in education to students across the Commonwealth.
The CSA works to see a world where students across the Commonwealth are empowered to effect change in education and
contribute to their societies.The CSA was reconstituted in 2012 and as one of its founding participants, Hodkinson is
excited to see the site go live.
“The new website at commonwealthstudents.org has been a work in progress for months so it’s great to see it up and
running,” says Hodkinson. “The CSA is an official voice of students to education ministers across the commonwealth and
to have an online platform that begins to make that more tangible for students is fantastic.”
For more information about International Youth day visit: http://undesadspd.org/Youth/InternationalYouthDay/2013.aspx
For more information about the Commonwealth Students’ Association visit: http://www.commonwealthstudents.org/
ENDS