Government’s New Think Tank Calls South Auckland home.

The Co-Design Lab, founded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to tackle complex social issues, will form its first inter-agency team from August 2015 and have chosen NGO Crosspower NZ in Otara as their base.

This inter agency team includes ACC, Ministry of Education, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and Otara youth. Their brief is to understand and address the obstacles that young people face when applying for driving licences. “One of the challenges facing Pacific youth accessing services is a lack of personal identification,” CEO Dain Guttenbeil says. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that many Polynesian youth in South Auckland are without a birth certificate leaving them no chance of attaining a driver’s licence let alone other community services.”

The Co-Design Elite team will have ample opportunity to engage Maori and Pasifika youth at Crosspower where over 250 youth attend each week.

“Having the Co-Design Lab team at Crosspower is a good fit for us and our young people. It is also a great opportunity for the Otara community to directly engage the agencies and help to show them that the solutions government is looking for are found right here in super high potential communities like Otara. Crosspower is the high engagement home of youth innovation, entrepreneurship and experiential business based learning,” Guttenbeil says.

Otara born and bred, Tere Toia, will be Crosspower’s youth representative in the Co-Design Lab team. Tere’s background as one of Crosspower’s youth workers, will make her a pivotal team member and with give youth a voice on this issue. She will be supported by Crosspower’s Youth Advisory Panel.

Crosspower NZ has invited the Otara community to join them in welcoming this high powered government team to Otara on Monday the 10th of August at 10am at Unit 7, 28 Lovegrove Crescent Otara.

ENDS

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