Youth Voice representatives chosen

Six outstanding young people in the Coromandel are taking on their new role as the Youth Voice in each of our Council's community board areas.

"We have a fantastic bunch of young leaders who have put themselves forward to ensure that our local youth voice is heard. This is just the beginning and we are excited to see what future opportunities we can explore together," says Thames Community Development Officer Marlene Perry.

After their selection through an interview process, the six representatives, aged between 16 and 24, got together late last week to meet each other and elected members from their ward. After the meet and greet they were given short presentations on governance and their role as a representative.

"It was really great to meet with the other reps and I am feeling extremely excited for what I can do for the youth of Thames," says Vicky Tissingh, Youth Voice representative for Thames.

The Youth Voice representatives are:

Coromandel-Colville - Kaihau Paitai
Mercury Bay - Finn Butler
Tairua-Pauanui - Harmony Hogarth
Whangamata - Hannah Ngamane
Thames - Harrison Hughes and Vicky Tissingh

A Youth/Council partnership was established during 2014/15 to explore how Council could facilitate an initiative that would not only accommodate a youth voice, but would also encourage it.

This year the Youth Voice Model was proposed to youth and elected representatives to enable engagement and regular input by youth into Council matters.

"Funding for the project was secured from Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) and the proposal presented to the Council," says Mrs Perry. "All five Community Boards and Council endorsed the project which shows a real dedication to giving youth a voice in our communities."

You can read more about the Youth Voice representatives and other youth projects on our websitewww.tcdc.govt.nz/coroyouth

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