Council running youth essay competition on protecting Kiwi kids

ROTORUA 13.06.11: Protecting our children is the hot topic for a Rotorua District Council (RDC) youth essay competition which will give the two young local winners the opportunity to represent Rotorua at the National Youth Forum on Cultural Diversity in Hamilton in August.

Participants must be aged 16 to 25 and the successful Rotorua entrants will join around 60 others from around the country to discuss issues of cultural diversity as it relates to them.

Entrants must write a two-page essay on how New Zealand can protect vulnerable children and youth from harm, and how to ensure that all New Zealand children and young people equally enjoy the right to education, good health, housing and freedom from poverty.

RDC youth projects officer Jill Campbell says judges of the Rotorua essay competition were looking for insightful and thought-provoking messages that youth would like to advocate for their peers.

“The top two entrants will be awarded a fantastic opportunity to network and engage with other community-minded youth from around the country.”

Mrs Campbell says the youth forum runs parallel with the New Zealand Diversity Forum, meaning young people will have the chance to contribute their views to the wider forum.

Entries must be received by 4.30pm on Thursday 27 June, with winning entrants notified by Thursday 30 June. Entries may be shared with the public.

The National Youth Forum on Cultural Diversity is taking place this year from 20 to 22 August and is jointly hosted by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and the Human Rights Commission.

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