Young leaders to develop a declaration on youth wellbeing

Whāraurau is hosting the Youth Leadership Symposium 2022, a full-day youth-powerful hui that brings together over 100 passionate young leaders between the ages of 16 and 30 years old from across the nation to build a declaration on youth wellbeing. We have partnered with 298 Youth Health, ILead Disability, Inside Out, Odyssey House, Purapura Whetu, VOYCE Whakarongo Mai and Youthline Central South Island to make this day possible.

The declaration our young people develop during the Youth Leadership Symposium 2022 will be presented to the Australasia/Pacific Islands Regional Hub Network Meeting in Christchurch, on Wednesday 26th of October. This meeting brings together mental health sector leaders and is part of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership Exchange Network Meeting, with other hubs in North America and Europe meeting on the same day.

“The aim of the Youth Leadership Symposium is to hold space for youth leaders to connect, learn and problem solve, and to provide a list of tangible actions and initiatives that NGOs, government agencies and organisations can implement to further improve the state of youth wellbeing both nationally and internationally,” says Whāraurau Youth Advisor Vira Paky.

The event is open to young people from around the Pacific region and registration is available here: tinyurl.com/wharaurau-yls

“We’d like to emphasise that attendees do not need to have lived experience of mental distress or accessing mental health services to participate,” says Romy Lee, Youth Advisory and Peer Workforce Development Lead at Whāraurau. “We ask attendees to explain their relationship to youth wellbeing whether that be through tertiary studies, professional experience, community work, volunteering or other means. Our focus is to have passionate and engaged young people in attendance.”

Topics of the symposium will include education, employment, equity, government assistance, healthcare governance, social media and technology, hauora, identity, society, and whānau – all through the prism of youth wellbeing.

What is Whāraurau?

Whāraurau is a national centre for infant, child and youth mental health workforce development. Through UniServices, the research application company of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, we are contracted by Te Whatu Ora and Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga to grow the capacity and capability of the infant, child, and youth mental health and addictions workforce.

Whāraurau aims to improve the mental health of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand by developing the child and youth mental health workforce nationally, providing training and resources of high quality to mental health professionals, and advocating for the mental health needs of children, young people and their whānau.

Who are Whāraurau Youth Consumer Advisors and what do they do?

The Whāraurau Youth Consumer Advisors are part of our Youth Advisory Team. They are taiohi whai ora (young people in pursuit of health), working within the mental health sector to make things better, influence policy and create change. They also talk to local and international leaders through forums such as the Youth Leadership Symposium and International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership about how to ensure all rangatahi thrive.

© Scoop Media