Ideas for The Mayors Taskforce
and Youth Week

Introduction
Youth Week offers many opportunities to your organisation(s). These opportunities also stand to benefit our overall campaign, and young people. Below is a specific proposal tailored to your organisation. All ideas are open to discussion and development, so please feel free to discuss them with us!

Your organisation
The Mayor’s Taskforce, in conjunction with local councils, could utilise Youth Week as a platform for positive youth development.

The idea below, for the Taskforce to support Youth Week’s local events, arose from a discussion about Youth Week with Jan Francis.

We propose that the Taskforce set aside some funding for youth councils to run an event or activity during Youth Week. These events would contribute to the Taskforce’s overall goals. The young people on each Youth Council would decide what the event is. The conditions of the event/activity being funded would be contingent on your own set of goals. You could make these as restrictive or as flexible as suits you.

We understand that the Taskforce already has a structure for funding applications that would be able to manage the process, in conjunction with the support of the local council. We don’t think the funding would need to be a large amount of money – particularly if the councils also offered in-kind support, e.g. in the form of venues and sound. A reasonable amount per event might be as low as $500.

We would in turn advertise the Taskforce and councils’ support for Youth Week on our website, We would list the Mayor’s Taskforce as a sponsor of Youth Week and therefore place the Taskforce’s logo on our material. We would also advertise the youth council’s events on our Youth Week website, and amongst our NZAAHD networks – therefore helping to attract young people to the events. The most pertinent events to our Youth Week theme might form part of our media work.

Prerequisites to signing on with Youth Week
We ask that all Youth Week sponsors agree to take on the following:

  • All messages, media statements, and material released during Youth Week by your organisation refers to young people in a positive, constructive and hopeful way.
  • That your organisation review and consider the ways in which you relate to young people – as workers, as consumers, as decision-makers. Have you considered including a young person on your board? Or providing a mentoring opportunity? Are young consumers of your products or services treated fairly? … and if you come up with any changes as a result, let us know because we would love to publicise your good work!

In exchange, we welcome you on board with Youth Week. Nau mai, haere mai ki te Wiki o te Rangatahi.

Looking for more information?

WHY MAYORS?

Mayors are:

  • Directly elected and they have a collective ability to speak to the whole community, take civic leadership and facilitate collaboration and genuine partnerships across all sectors
  • Passionate about their communities
  • Committed to providing opportunities for all their citizens to participate

WHY YOUTH?

  • Research shows those who make a successful transition from school to education, training and work have better life long outcomes.
  • NZ is suffering widespread skill and labour shortages so we need every young person to be fully engaged in our communities.
  • NZ needs to train its young to help fill our skills shortages.
  • The demand for entry and lower level skilled workers is also growing.
  • There is global competition for skilled labour.
  • Youth are an underutilised source of labour.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Taking Mayoral leadership to engage with government Ministers, officials, agencies, community groups and the private sector which have key roles in employment is the way the Taskforce works to achieve its vision. Partnerships with government agencies and Ministers provide the Taskforce with an opportunity to discuss policy issues and inform the policy making process, particularly to ensure that policy is relevant at the local level. Working across all sectors and encouraging collaboration between agencies ensures the most effective service delivery and efficient use of resources, currently through:

  • Increasing youth transition services, modern apprenticeships, industry trainees
  • Using Long Term Council Community Plans to engage locals
  • Working with central and local government officials to develop sound policies and projects
  • Using Mayors’ collective voice to lobby on behalf of youth employment
  • Recognising and using the power of the Mayor’s office