Youth have vital part to play in community

 

During the year there are different weeks allocated to certain groups of people, organisations, and issues. This week, May 21-29 is Youth Week, with the theme this year of Giving. Aroha Mai, Aroha Atu - Giving Back is Giving Forward.

Youth Week is designed to make it easier for young people to be involved in community, to provide opportunities for discussion of youth issues, raise the profile of youth projects and celebrate young people’s contribution to our communities.

If we want young people to develop a strong sense of citizenship, then getting them involved in things that matter to them makes a lot of sense. Often they don’t see the relevance of being involved in community groups, but when it is something important to them and they are able to take leadership, they can be a force to be reckoned with.

In our local area there are young people involved in the development of the Mangawhai Activity Zone, as well as the Maungaturoto and Dargaville skate parks, using their energy, enthusiasm and skills to help develop the facilities for themselves and others to use.

Young people bring a different perspective and of course generally have fun while they are doing it, which is a great attraction for others to be involved, and could be something we as adults could do more of.

A great example of young people taking leadership on an issue important to them is Bye Bye Plastic Bags in Bali. This group was started by two young sisters, Melati, 14, and Isabel, 12, who for the last three years have been spearheading a campaign to rid Bali of plastic bags. If you have been to Bali or other developing countries, where there are little or no rubbish collections, you will know that plastic, including plastic bags, are a serious problem.

These young women got a team of children together, started petitions, raised awareness, did beach clean ups and wrote regularly to the Governor of Bali until he agreed to meet with them. He has since committed to a plastic bag free Bali by 2018. They are now setting their sights beyond Bali.

Youth Week celebrates young people 12-24 years and their efforts in helping others, civic engagement, volunteerism, sport and leadership. A look at the winners of NZ Youth Week Awards last year is also encouraging. I am looking forward to seeing this year’s winners, which will be announced this week. It would be great to see some young people’s names from our area, if not this year then next. Check out myd.govt.nz/young-people.

The Ministry of Youth Development is the overarching government body charged with encouraging and supporting young people to develop and use knowledge, skills and experiences to participate confidently in their communities. They support training for young people, networks, Youth Parliament and Youth Councils.

With the new council being elected in Kaipara this year, there is now a great opportunity for our young people to be given the support to get involved in civic affairs, by setting up a Youth Council or Advisory Group. This should also help into the future when our Council and other bodies are needing great local leaders.