25 May 2018

Youth Week has been in full swing in the Hurunui District with the council’s Community Team facilitating a number of events since Saturday 19 May.

From the launch of the Youth Strategy to the well-attended Junior and Senior Formals, this year’s theme ‘Ahakoa te aha, kei a koe te tikanga: Be who you want to be’ has been celebrated by the young people of the Hurunui.

Youth Week is a nationwide festival of events organised by young New Zealanders to celebrate the talents, passion and success of local young people. The events in the Hurunui this week have enabled participation in the initiative to recognise the amazing contributions and achievements of our youth.

Community Team Leader Rochelle Faimalo says the Hurunui is known throughout the country for its strong youth programme and we can be proud of the work done in this area.

“We are lucky enough to have high youth participation and engagement in local government processes and Youth Week has been the perfect opportunity for us to showcase this.”

Of particular importance for the week has been the Hurunui Youth Strategy, which was launched on Monday night and will be adopted by the both the council and youth council. The strategy was formed after consultation with over 300 Hurunui youth and aims to recognise the value of our youth voice, while providing guidance on the setting of priorities and ongoing support.

The strategy identifies four key objectives as follows:
• Future Focus: strengthening the Hurunui District to create innovative bright futures for our young people.
• Our environment: creating an environment that is nurtured today, to be enjoyed by future generations.
• Connected community: value the sense of community and create opportunities to be connected locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.
• Positive Youth Development: be a district where young people continue to learn and grow, and their contribution is valued.

Mayor Winton Dalley says he is looking forward to the Youth Strategy being adopted after its successful launch showed how much work had been put into producing the document and the value it will bring to the district.

“Our young people are not just the future of tomorrow, but are a valuable voice of today and with this strategy we hope to strengthen the representation of the youth voice for the benefit of our entire district.”

The Youth Strategy has been well received and the Hurunui Youth Programme will now present it to the council and Environment Canterbury. Once this has taken place an action plan will be developed to accompany the strategy.

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