Funding announced for Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa

The government will bring together a comprehensive youth development strategy aimed at improving outcomes for young New Zealanders, Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harré announced yesterday.

Speaking at the 3rd Pacific Rim Conference of the International Association of Adolescent Health in Christchurch, Laila Harré said Youth Affairs will receive an extra $103,000 over the next two years to progress the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa.

"This will act as a blueprint of the government's goals for young people how we plan to achieve them," she said.

"The Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa will take a developmental and preventative approach to the issues facing young people, and set out a range of integrated responses."

Laila Harré said the strategy will be developed in close consultation with young people, key youth-focused organisations, services providers, local government and central government agencies.

It will also tie in with the Youth Health Strategy.

"One of the big failings in the area of youth development has been a reluctance to clearly state what we want for our young people and how we want to achieve it," Laila Harré said.

"At the moment, each government portfolio has a different set of assumptions about young people and the best way to interact with them.

"The result has been a very uncoordinated approach to the delivery of youth services and a real lack of youth participation in the decision making process."

© Scoop Media