Youth Curriculum Breakfast With The Mayor

MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 6 May 2004

What better way for a teenager to mark International Youth Week (3-9 May) than breakfast with the mayor and a chance to change the New Zealand secondary school curriculum.

“Bit of a dream really,” said Christchurch City Council Children’s and Youth Advocacy project officer Shailer Hart, whose team is hosting the breakfast and Ministry of Education sponsored consultation.

Christchurch City Councillors, Community Board members and about 45 young people have been invited to the breakfast in the Mayor’s Reception Lounge, after which 15 students from three Christchurch secondary schools will give their views on the New Zealand Curriculum project at Our City, cnr Oxford Tce and Worcester Boulevard.

The pilot consultation with students is part of a review of the New Zealand secondary school curriculum, which is expected to be published by the Ministry of Education in 2006. Teachers, key organisations in the education sector and other interested stakeholders are also being consulted on proposed changes.

Ministry of Education representative Christine Rutherford said the Council’s Children’s and Youth Advocacy Team was chosen to host the consultation because it was known for its work in this area.

“The consultation and breakfast fit well with the goals of International Youth Week, which focus on the positive aspects of being a young person in Aotearoa,” Shailer Hart said. “It is all about providing young people with opportunities to speak out about youth issues, influence adult views and to participate in decision making.”

International Youth Week has been brought to Christchurch by Community & Public Health in conjunction with the New Zealand Association for Adolescent Health and Development.

ENDS

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