Media Release: Manurewa Youth Council
6 June 2010

New representative for Manurewa youth, Mayor told to Listen

Manurewa Youth Council is proud to nominate Flora Apulu to represent the youth of Manurewa on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Panel.

Each Local Board will select one young person to sit on this panel and to represent their community. The Manurewa Youth Council is proud to support the nomination of Flora Apulu to represent Manurewa, the youngest community in Auckland.

“Flora Apulu is best positioned to advocate for the interests of all young people in Manurewa and will play a huge part in ensuring that those interests are turned into Council policy”, says Manurewa Youth Council Chairman, Simeon Brown.

“Our focus in Manurewa has been on projects that create positive outcomes for young people in Manurewa. We’ve held youth forums discussing with young people on issues relevant to them, engaging youth in activities across the community, and we’ve given the youth of Manurewa a voice on issues they care about such as the purchase age of alcohol.”

The Manurewa Youth Council will be holding the Mayor’s new panel accountable. “We will be expecting project orientated leadership, we will be expecting transparency and we will be expecting results from this new panel just as we’ve achieved results for Manurewa.”

“The Mayor and council must listen. We will be watching closely to ensure that the panel is focussed on results, not talk fests; on policy, not self-promotion. We believe in grassroots youth engagement, and that starts with empowering young people to have a voice at the Local Board level in their communities,” says Brown.

Flora Apulu also sits on the Manurewa Youth Council creating a direct relationship between YAP and the Manurewa Youth Council meaning the Mayor’s panel will be held to account and the aspirations of all young people in Manurewa will be represented.

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