Whenua Iti Selected for International Forum

February 1st 2012

Whenua Iti Selected for International Forum

Whenua Iti Manager Michelle MacNeil has been chosen as one of 12 delegates to represent New Zealand Non-Profit Organisations at a 15 day international forum to be held in Japan starting next week.

The 10th annual NPO (Non-Profit Organisation) Management Forum is hosted by the Japanese Cabinet Office and brings together specialists who work with youth, the elderly and people with disabilities from Japan, Denmark, Germany and New Zealand. They will share information and use research to work compare, analyse and improve how they work with local and central government.

Whenua Iti Outdoors, the Moutere-based outdoor education centre, is one of only four New Zealand youth organisations to be invited to attend and the only one in the South Island. Michelle says it will be an invaluable experience that will allow Whenua Iti to see where it stands internationally.

“It’s a great honour to be selected and I will be able to bring back insights from other countries about how we can further strengthen government relations to help us continue improving the way we support our young people.”

“Collaboration is the way forward. In the youth sector we know we can’t do it alone – it takes the wider community to become involved and while each service provider and government department has the same ends, we need to find more ways to connect us all together. I aim to be able to bring back ways we can improve all our relationships.”

The 10th NPO Management Forum begins on February 8th with a five-day conference in Tokyo. The delegates then split into their specialist areas and Michelle will be going to Kyoto with the other youth sector representatives for a series of seminars and field studies centred around the theme of youth work and human resources.

The key areas the youth delegates will explore include how to tackle diverse youth needs, communication/information exchange with local government, how to create opportunities for young people and how staff are trained to work with youth.

“It is a great chance to be able to work with the other New Zealand delegates in a team, and we put together presentations about the current practices in New Zealand for the other countries. It’s really a unique opportunity for knowledge-sharing that will be great for our region.”

ENDS

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