Hon Nikki Kaye

Minister for Youth

16 March 2017

$200k for more youth leadership and volunteering opportunities

Around 2,000 young people nationwide will benefit from new youth development partnerships with Recreate New Zealand, who provide life-changing experiences for young people with disabilities, and UNICEF New Zealand, Youth Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

“These investments are being made under the Partnership Fund, which sees the Government co-invest with business, philanthropic, iwi and other partners to grow youth development opportunities,” says Ms Kaye.

“Around 1,600 young people will benefit from the partnership with Recreate New Zealand, which will see 300 young people supported to become leaders and mentors for around 1,300 young people with disabilities.

“The young leaders and mentors will learn valuable skills such as teamwork, decision-making and communication as they support the young people with disabilities in a variety of social, recreational and educational settings.

“The partnership with UNICEF NZ will enable more young people to become ‘U-Reporters’, whose goal is to inspire and facilitate change by identifying and reporting on issues that young people care about, such as civic participation, the environment and health and wellbeing.

“Around 400 new opportunities will be created through this partnership, with funding supporting both leadership opportunities for young people to train U-Reporters, as well as opportunities for young volunteers to become U-Reporters themselves.

“Six regional training workshops will be held, and the roles of U-Reporters will be ongoing.

“These new opportunities are about helping more young people develop their skills and grow in confidence, while at the same time contributing positively to their communities.

“It’s great that both initiatives involve young people supporting the interests of other young people, so this is a chance for participants to extend themselves and also give back to their peers.

“Since January this year, I have announced 14 new partnerships between the Government and businesses, philanthropic organisations and iwi to grow youth development opportunities in New Zealand.

“These represent a combined investment of around $2.5 million to provide more than 5,000 new opportunities, and show that the partnership model is delivering great results.”

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