Media Release 18 May 2017
National Professional Association for Youth Workers Launches Today
Youth work in Aotearoa has a rich history, a strong present and an exciting future. Today, the youth development sector
celebrates the launch of a professional association for youth workers, built by youth workers.
“Youth work is an important part of the ecosystem that will support our young people to thrive,” says Simon Mareko,
chair of Ara Taiohi’s Pathways to Professionalisation working group and member of the Ara Taiohi board. “What’s exciting
is how youth workers across the country have been part of a ground-breaking, participatory process of design. Ara Taiohi
are proud to have supported a process that genuinely reflects the innovative, rights based and strengths based practice
of youth work in Aotearoa. We know this because nearly 600 youth workers have been part of the journey.”
Youth work is a community in Aotearoa that has strong foundations, built through the contribution and leadership of many
people, networks and organisations. The professional association will work to uphold and uplift the mana of youth work,
so the work that youth workers do can be valued alongside teachers, doctors, counsellors, social workers and nurses.
“This is a platform for youth workers to be connected, effective, ethical and accountable to one another, and to the
communities and young people they work with. We’ve opened a space for youth workers to be part of the growth of the
profession, and they’ve responded enthusiastically,” says Jane Zintl, the development manager for the association at Ara
Taiohi. “We’ve had amazing input from individual youth workers around the country, and the wonderful networks and
collectives around the country.”
“Young people across New Zealand need youth workers in 2017. The fundamental focus on positive, developmental
relationships that sits at the heart of youth work practice is critical to our nation in the rebuild our system of care
and in the way we support our young people to thrive in all dimensions of their life,” says Anya Satyanand, Executive
Officer at Ara Taiohi, the peak body for youth development. “Growing up in Aotearoa right now is tough for many of our
young people. The professional association is an important part of our work to create an Aotearoa where all young people
thrive. Ara Taiohi have championed this work as part of our priorities on connecting the sector and raising the
standards across the youth development sector.”