Young New Zealanders gear up for 'World Environment Day'

Young New Zealanders gear up for 'World Environment Day' with youth journalism contest

Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Young Reporters for the Environment Programme (YRE) gives young people the opportunity to publish an article, video or photo about their environment and community.

YRE New Zealand is a national environmental education programme that gives young people the opportunity to be part of the solution by producing creative and engaging environmental journalism. Participants (ages 11-14 and 15-18) investigate and report on environmental issues, and propose solutions, by using video, photography or writing.

YRE New Zealand is a Keep New Zealand Beautiful programme and is part of Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) - an international programme by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) which operates in 27 countries around the world. “Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s politicians, activists and journalists,” said KNZB CEO, Heather Saunderson. “This programme will engage with them and provide them with a platform to learn and teach others about their environment.”

Thousands of people from at least 15 countries participate in contests run by Young Reporters for the Environment Global. New Zealand winning submissions will get to spend time in a newsroom, be eligible to appear in an international publication, and win other prizes of electronic equipment.

The contest offers participants a website (www.yre.org.nz) where they can download handbooks full of writing, filmmaking and photography tips and engage directly with writing, photography and film experts. The website also offers a resource page for teachers where they can download a classroom guide to help incorporate the YRE programme into their class curriculum.

Young people can submit their stories, photos and videos until Friday 28 October 2016. A panel of renowned New Zealand judges will choose the top six submissions, comprising of the winners from each category and age group to represent New Zealand in the international Young Reporters competition. The New Zealand winners will be announced in November 2016. The global winners will be announced in June 2017.

The Wrigley Company Foundation is a proud sponsor of KNZB’s Young Reporter’s for the Environment Programme.

About Keep New Zealand Beautiful:

v. Keep New Zealand Beautiful is a non-profit organisation and operates as an Incorporated Society (charitable trust) to promote litter abatement, waste minimisation and the beautification of our towns and cities.

v. Keep New Zealand Beautiful was established under the New Zealand Litter Act 1979 and has been operating ever since to provide branches at both a national and local level.

v. Governed by a Board of Zone and Industry Representatives, our strength is in our nationwide local, volunteer network that engages with their local communities to enable the implementation of programmes like Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week, Adopt-A-Spot, Wall Worthy, Beautiful Towns and Cities Awards.

v. Keep New Zealand Beautiful also acts as the conduit for the implementation and promotion of programmes developed by and in partnership with Local/Regional Council, as well as other non-profit organisations.

www.knzb.org.nz

ENDS

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