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West Auckland student makes Youth Parliament
West Auckland student makes Youth Parliament
A West Auckland student from a refugee background had the right attitude to make parliament notice her.
Shameela Nassery from Rutherford College was selected by Labour Member of Parliament Dr Ashraf Choudhary to be part of Youth Parliament 2010 which was held between the 6th and 7th of July in Wellington.
Dr Choudhary, Associate spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs, says he chose Shameela due to her ethnic background and academic talents.
“Shameela is a person of a refugee background whose family came to NZ and has done well. She is also a successful student, being Prefect, part of the advance debating team and cultural captain.”
NZ born Shameela, whose parents fled war-torn Afghanistan due to the Soviet invasion, says the event intrigued her because it suited her debating nature.
“I like fighting for people’s rights. It’s something I can get emotionally attached to,” Shameela says.
Debating legislation, sitting on Select Committees and asking parliamentary questions of Cabinet Ministers was part of Youth Parliament 2010.
It was an event established for young New Zealander’s, aged between 16 and 18, to learn about NZ’s democracy and influence public decision making.
Shameela debated the Adults Rights and Responsibilities (Age Majority) Bill and inquired into how NZ can tap into the talents of “Mozzies” (Maori young people living in Australia) better.
“The atmosphere was so amazing,” Shameela says. Meeting the politicians was one of the highlights and seeing them “crack a joke,” she says.
Potential Youth MPs where required to write an essay and go through an interview process with their MP to be accepted into the program.
Selected where 122 young New Zealanders who represented each sitting MP, with 10 Youth Journalists, aged between 20 and 24 who reported on them making sure they were held accountable to the public.
Youth Parliament has been held every three years since 1994 and is as real as possible.
Shameela says that the experience has inspired her to study politics at university.
ENDS
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