Hon Nikki Kaye

Minister for Youth

2 September 2016
Media Statement

International Leadership Award recipients announced

Ten recipients of the 2016 Minister for Youth’s International Leadership Award were announced today by Youth Minister Nikki Kaye.

“This award supports outstanding young New Zealanders to access an international opportunity to further develop their leadership skills,” says Ms Kaye.

“An important element of the award is a commitment by the recipients to use their international experience to inspire, mentor and foster ongoing leadership opportunities for other young New Zealanders in their community upon their return home.”

The ten recipients of the 2016 Minister for Youth’s International Leadership Award are:
Ezel Kokcu (Wellington)
Sam Johnson (Christchurch)
Bonnie Howland (Wellington)
Toby Carr (Auckland)
Ben Wigley (Christchurch)
Charlizza Harris (Lower Hutt)
Kii Small (Kaitaia)
Lucy Xie (Auckland)
Melody Guo (Auckland)
Nathalie Harrington (Wellington).

“These are young people who have already accomplished amazing things in business and their communities, and are recognised for their leadership and entrepreneurship.

“They were selected from a talented pool of candidates, and are testament to the many young New Zealanders who have great vision and fortitude, as well as a real sense of social responsibility.

“The award will enable the recipients to travel to China from 5 to 11 September, where they will attend the second-ever New Zealand China Young Leaders Forum in Beijing.

“This forum, which was first held in Auckland last year, aims to facilitate dialogue, connection and partnership between Chinese and Kiwi young people in areas such as the environment, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The focus of the 2016 forum and the trip being undertaken by the award recipients is leadership, entrepreneurship, education and technology.

“I’d like to acknowledge the New Zealand Chinese Youth Federation, which is supporting a delegation of 42 Chinese Kiwis and others to attend the forum, alongside the award recipients.

“The combined support provided by the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development means 52 young New Zealanders are in for an amazing experience.

“China is one of our largest and most important trading partners, with whom we continue to build stronger and deeper ties. The Young Leaders Forum is an important strand in growing the level of engagement and understanding between our two countries.

“As well as attending the forum, the young New Zealand leaders will participate in a range of other opportunities in both Beijing and Shanghai during their stay in China. These will include discussion sessions led by expert speakers in fields such as scientific innovation, cultural creativity and social enterprise, and visits to cutting-edge innovation and incubation hubs.

“I encourage the award recipients to immerse themselves in this experience, to inspire their ideas for future personal, business and social initiatives.

“The experience will be invaluable to helping generate their plans for future youth development opportunities in New Zealand, utilising both their current and yet-to-be discovered networks.

“All of the award recipients will provide reports to the Ministry of Youth Development in 2017, detailing the new youth development opportunities that have arisen as a result of their international experience.

“With support from the Ministry, each recipient has agreed to facilitate opportunities for 30-40 young people, creating up to 400 new opportunities in total.”

ends

© Scoop Media