Youth Council

On Tuesday 24 July, Kaikōura Youth Council met for their 2017/2018 AGM.

Introducing new members, going over past events, checking their finances and the current Chair handing the batton to a new leader for 2018-2019 were all included in the meeting. 

Gearing up for another year of events, influence in Council and making a difference in our district, every member of the Youth Council are a credit to our community. 

Council are excited to work alongside Youth Council over the next three years, as we work to implement many aspects of the 3 Year Plan that will require a strong voice from our youth. 

Here's to another year!

Some of our Youth Council members attended the Youth Council Top of the South Forum mid July. Theo shared a few thoughts about the event...

On Friday the 13th of July, members of Kaikōura Youth Council traveled to Blenheim to meet with other youth councils in the Marlborough area; Nelson, Blenheim, and Murchison Youth Council's.

We discussed things like financial information, the events we run, and submissions that we make. We enjoyed getting to know how other councils did things. Some were more submission based, running only one large-scale event a year. Others were more like KYC, running events often, but also writing submissions occasionally.

There was also casual time for casual conversation, so that members from different youth councils could socialise, and talk about things not related to councils, over pizza. There was also a presentation/workshop from Steve Smith, to develop rapport and to learn about our personalities.

KYC finished off the enjoyable day with a round of 10-pin bowling.

Thanks for sharing Theo, looks like there were plenty of networking and learning opportunities to be had by all Youth Council's in attendance!

Image courtesy of Nelson Youth Council.

Kim and Libby (Council Communications) had an awesome time speaking to Kaikōura High School about Council's draft 3 Year Plan and what it means for the youth of Kaikōura and their families.

The Students (and Teachers) had some great questions about things in the plan - thanks so much for having us and thanks so much to Kaikōura Youth Council for helping us organise the presentation.

The Youth Council have been busy gathering the youth voice of Kaikōura and creating a submission on the 3 Year Plan. We feel very lucky that we have such an active and motivated Youth Council who understand the importance of having a youth voice on a plan such as this one. 

Council looks forward to working alongside the youth of Kaikōura for the next three years and getting stuck into some key projects addressed in the plan. It's vital that youth have their say on important matters in our district, as they are the ones who will be shaping the future of our community. 

Read more about the 3 Year Plan 2018-2021 here.

On Thursday 24 May, Kaikōura Youth Council invited two of Kaikōura's awesome Police to Kaikōura High School for some giant Jenga and Connect Four.

The aim of the game was to connect the youth of Kaikōura and the Police in a casual and fun setting.

The first tower of Jenga went falling to the ground with a gasp from the crowd, and the students took the lead one-nil. Connect Four was also in the students' favour, with red taking victory over blue. The games continued throughout lunchtime, with the playing field evening-out and the conversation flowing freely. 

Lots of students got involved. Thanks to Kaikōura Youth Council and Kaikōura Police for an awesome event.

Kaikōura Youth Council organised events every day of the week at the High School, as the internationally celebrated Youth Week is on. We think the youth in our community are pretty outstanding.

Monday's Youth Council organised activity was a hand print mural, created to represent everyone coming together as one and supporting one another to be their best selves. Then Tuesday saw a mirror day, where mirrors were used for the youth of Kaikōura to look at their reflections and write positive things about themselves.

Youth Week  2018's theme was 'Ahakoa te aha, kei a koe te tikanga: Be who you want to be," and was 19-27 May. Youth Week is held every May and is a nationwide festival of events organised by young New Zealanders to celebrate the talents, passion and success of local young people. It recognises the amazing contributions and achievements of young people in New Zealand and inspires the wider community to value, support and affirm the diversity of young people in our society. 

Youth Week began in 1995 with a handful of events scattered throughout Canada. Since then it has gathered momentum and is now celebrated each year in countries all over the world. It came to Aotearoa in the late 1990s.

Kaikōura Youth Council joined forces with Te Hā, All Right? Kaikōura and the Violence Free network to support Pink Shirt Day on Friday 18 May. 

The Youth Council hosted multi-sport at lunchtime and had a pledge board where students and teachers could sign the board pledging to not bully, and to do what they can to stop bullying if they see it. The Youth Council had some tee shirts available to students who came up with some good ways to deal with bullying and to encourage and build up our peers, whanau and social networks. 

The day was beautiful and sunny, and lots of the students dressed up in their pink gear to take a stand against bullying.

Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying, mobilising their whole school, after a peer was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. 

In New Zealand, Pink Shirt Day aims to create schools, workplaces and communities where all people feel safe, valued and respected.

The event also saw the end of week one for Courtney, Kaikōura's new Youth Development Worker based at Te Hā o Mātauranga - Leaning in Kaikōura. Welcome to Kaikōura, Courtney!