News Release
3 November 2009

Modern Adventurers Walk To Address Youth Issues

Veteran mountaineer Graeme Dingle and adventurer Jamie Fitzgerald are set to walk the length of New Zealand with groups of young Kiwis, in a bid to turnaround the country’s negative youth statistics.

Dubbed ‘The Big Walk’ the journey will get underway on 30 November and is expected to finish in early February 2010.

Dingle said he and Fitzgerald teamed up to tackle the country’s sobering youth statistics and find ways to motivate and engage young New Zealanders.

“Alongside groups of young Kiwis aged predominantly between 16-18 years old, we will travel the Te Araroa Trail which runs the full length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff.”

Fitzgerald will start at Cape Reinga, while Dingle and co-founder of FYD Jo-anne Wilkinson will begin at Bluff. Both parties will be joined at various stages along the way by young people who have taken part in FYD programmes. They will also be accompanied by experienced wilderness instructors as well as local and national celebrities.

Dingle, who co-founded The Foundation for Youth Development (FYD) in 1995, believes a concerted approach is required by everyone – politicians, corporates, healthcare and education providers, and communities alike – to turn around the country’s rates of suicide, unplanned pregnancy, and drug and alcohol use which are among the highest in the western world.

“Leaders of The Big Walk will be encouraging policy-makers and communities to start talking about how they can best engage young people,” Dingle said.

“Just recently, the OECD released a report showing that more than a quarter of Kiwi teenagers quit school early, placing New Zealand second in the developed world for drop-out rates.1

“The time for action is now and it will only take a concerted effort at every level of the wider ‘New Zealand community’ before real change can occur.”

Fitzgerald said the country’s youth statistics are not only a tragedy for the youths and families directly affected, but they also represent a huge cost for New Zealanders.

“Based on conservative estimates, the ‘economic and social cost’ to New Zealand is in the billions of dollars.”

The Big Walk will serve a dual purpose of helping to mobilise communities to support the country’s young adults and, at the same time, raise funds for the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD).

The journey will culminate in a large-scale event at Parliament which will involve all participants of the Big Walk.

“Up to 10 teenagers from each region that have attended FYD’s Kiwi Can, Stars or Project K programmes will be included in The Big Walk. Each group will complete legs of up to 100kms over four to five days,” Fitzgerald said.

“During the walk, participants will take part in workshops and learning experiences which are aimed at developing their life skills and determining the best ways of engaging youth. This will add an additional ‘layer’ to The Big Walk giving students the chance to learn a raft of new skills while out in the bush.”

The walking groups will call into towns along the way to participate in community-based events.

“We want to include community groups wherever we can and encourage them to become further involved in youth development.

“We’re also looking to identify opportunities and challenge policy-makers and local community leaders to put in place strategies that will maximize success in the area of youth development.”

The Radio Network is the official media partner of The Big Walk.

Members of the public will be able to track the journey by going to www.thebigwalk.org.nz.

1 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance 2009: OECD Indicators, September, 2009

Our Youth Statistics

• 48% describe violence in their home as pretty bad, really bad, or terrible.
• 59% are unhappy with teaching practices at school
• 33% are either overweight or obese.
• 25% truant from school
• 15% of females, and 7% of males reported significant symptoms of depression
• 34% reported binge drinking at least once every four weeks
• 19% of female students and 9% of male students thought seriously about suicide in the past 12 months
• 22% were unable to access healthcare when they needed it
• 10% have no plans for when they leave school
• 71% of female students are worried about gaining weight
• 50% of females, and 33% of males don’t always eat breakfast
• 25% of females and 16% of males had deliberately harmed themselves in the last 12 months.
* Information provided by the Adolescent Health Research Group “Youth’07 Survey”.

Bio Details

Graeme Dingle

Graeme Dingle is one of the world’s leading outdoor adventurers and has achieved hundreds of ‘firsts’ in mountaineering, rock climbing and adventuring throughout the world. He is Executive Trustee of the Foundation for Youth Development, which he co-founded with partner Jo-anne Wilkinson, to give young New Zealanders a combination of community skills, wilderness experiences and mentoring to prepare them for a rewarding life.

He has more than 30 years experience in outdoor activities and has received numerous awards including: an MBE for services to outdoor pursuits, the Award of New Zealand for services to recreation and sport, the Antarctic Service Medal of the United States, the Deloitte Top 200 Companies Visionary Leader Award, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He is also a life member of the New Zealand Alpine Club.

Graeme has been involved in the production of more than two dozen adventure films, written numerous articles and 11 books.

Jamie Fitzgerald

Jamie strives for success in everything he does and continues to push boundaries.

He recently become the first ever Kiwi to reach the South Pole unsupported on foot with fellow adventurer Kevin Biggar. Their 52-day expedition came after a world record win in the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race in 2003. Jamie also holds the world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a tiny row boat, has owned his own business, captained New Zealand rowing crews that competed against Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and has been a bank manager.

He is also in demand as a keynote speaker. He has spoken to over 130,000 New Zealand students between 2004 and 2007.

He is currently a consultant for ON-Brand Partners, a change-management business carving out a reputation for social change and organisational alignment..

Jo-anne Wilkinson

Co-founder and Executive Director of The Foundation for Youth Development,
Jo-anne began her career in law after gaining a LLB from Victoria University, Wellington.

She played a key role in the successful introduction of the Kiwi Can and Male Youth New Directions programmes into The Foundation for Youth Development.

Jo-anne is a veteran of outdoors adventures including: 1200km sea kayak and mountain traverse around the New Zealand coast; 4000km traverse of Alaska and the Bering Sea. She has canoed down the Yukon River, undertaken a high altitude circumnavigation of Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru and ascended to 5700m in Western Himalaya.

About the Foundation for Youth Development:

• Aims to inspire all school age New Zealand children to reach their full potential through its three key programmes which comprise:
o Kiwi Can - a life skills and values programme for 5-12 year olds (year 1-8), delivered in primary and intermediate schools.
o Project K - works with selected Year 10 students identified as having ‘untapped potential’.
o Stars - designed to help Year 9 students to make a successful transition into secondary school.
• All three programmes help build self-esteem, promote good values and teach valuable life, education and health skills for children and young adults.
• Approximately 18,000 young people take part in Foundation for Youth Development programmes each year.

ENDS

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