YOUTH DECLARATION: HISTORY Happy 5th birthday Youth Declaration! The conference was originally conceived and established by Elizabeth Chan, the current UN Youth National President. She was inspired to run the event after attending a similar event (also called Youth Declaration) at the UN Youth Conference in Sydney in 2008. There, she discussed gender and sexuality issues with a group of 6–7 Australians. She talked about how Family Planning in New Zealand provided free contraception and free consultation for young people aged 22 and under.
Lizzie returned to New Zealand, keen to share the experience with other young people. Together with a few friends, Lizzie organised a one-day event that brought together young people to discuss New Zealand issues in focus groups and as a conference, to create a policy statement outlining their vision of New Zealand. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity that allowed young people to talk about issues that mattered to them personally and offer something different to
Model UN, where delegates have to discuss issues from their own country’s perspective. Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa was the founding partner and has continued to support the conference. Youth Declaration became a national event in 2011, and this year’s Youth Declaration incorporated an outreach programme for the first time. Going forward? Come next year and find out!
UN+ WRITTEN ISSUE TWO
UN YOUTH FASHION | UN YOUTH FASHION | UN YOUTH FASHION PETER YASITH GAME SHEHARA SAMANTHA MCKENZIE KANKANAMGE FARIK ZHANG
DRESS | Blueberry (Newmarket) two-tone, nice cut, well-fitted
SHIRT + PANTS | Scotts College Uniform
SHOES | Novo-cool laces, comfortable
WAISTCOAT | Passed down from family. Designed for grandfather when his wife died.
NECKLACE | Karen Walker DRESS | Sylvester by Kate Sylvester - comfortable, nice fit
A text received by a welfare officer: “Hi I’m Elliot because who said it wasn’t in park. feeling well, but I’d just like to thank you for being there just in case anything happens. What are you enjoying about the conference? :)” “Getting to know new people from around New Zealand, like Peter from the Sealord Sally: “Have you seen my ipod cord?” advert.” Suzy: “It’s round your neck.” Eliott: “Who needs a brain when you’ve got a During the Hunger Banquet, Sally called smartphone?” Suzy “Sushi”. DOBB IN THE GOSS Suzy and sally couldn’t start the car, phoned Anonymous textline: 027 3134085
SHIRT | Farmers SHOES | Warehouse
DICTATORS TO DEFACE
“QUOTE / UNQUOTE”
SUIT + TIE | Hallensteins - good quality and comfortable
FEATURE ARTICLE: HUNGER BANQUET Where’s your place in society? Are you the wealthy corporate millionaire who flies on their private jet to their private island to eat a seafood buffet cooked by their private chef? Are you the Ethiopian refugee, eating pre-cooked sachet meals diluted in water to a drinkable state? Or are you the average, hardworking citizen who lives within their means, contributing to the societal hierarchies on either side of them? The global economy is built upon a hierarchy. For those at the bottom, they wake up every
day appreciative of the air in their lungs, the movement in their limbs. For those in the middle, they live to enjoy life but know that the next day is going to be just as hard as the one before it. And for those at the top life can be many things- it can be played out in a state of ignorance or fulfillment. So what is the hunger banquet about? It’s about understanding our global population and the way they differ through being randomly allocated to a societal group you may not belong to.
How would you react if you were a part of this group? If you were the wealthy corporate millionaire would you better the living standards of those below you, or would you ignore them? If you were the poor Ethiopian refugee, would you beg for money or would you make a proactive change in your life? Be aware of who you are. Be aware of the global population you are a part of.
UN+ WRITTEN ISSUE TWO
EXPERT SESSIONS
We are all interested in and stimulated by the issues present in our focus group. But how much do we know when compared with the grand scheme of the globe? And how much does the rest of the world know about what we think about these issues? For this reason, experts for each focus group were selected to enhance our knowledge, show us a different point of view, as well as understand our view on controversial global issues. For Maori, Pacific Island and Minorities affairs, Valmaine Toki, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Waikato spoke. The underlying message of Valmaine’s talk was that our ideas and visions are “carried to the top of the chain”. As a member of the UN Permanent Forum on indigenous issues she assured us that the discussions the Maori, Pacific Island and Minorities Youth Declaration group had would go through the UN Permanent Forum and could potentially reach the Human Rights Commission. Our voices are heard. Simon Draper, director of UN, Human Rights and Commonwealth division at MFAT sure had a way to relate to the Foreign Affairs group. His endless analogies accompanied by strictly political humour kept us entertained and educated simultaneously. “Turkeys never vote for an early thanks giving, the P5 (permanent 5) are never going to vote against having the veto.”
TRADE AID @ CAP & GOWN
SOCIAL EVENT @ CAP & GOWN
Trade Aid is a unique New Zealand organistion currently staffed by over 800 volunteers around the country. Entirely not for profit, Trade Aid is far more than just a store. Rather, what separates Trade Aid from other fair trade organisations is its commitment to establishing long-term relationships with producer partners. The relationship between the organisation and the Tara Projects, a jewelry manufacturer in India is testament to Trade Aid’s philosophy of providing the world’s most disadvantaged producers with support to improve their lives. We learned of Azeer, who had previously worked as a child labourer for 11 hours a
day, 7 days a week, earning a total of $30NZD a month. Through Trade Aid’s partnership with the Tara Projects, Azeer was able to work fewer days, whilst earning six times as much as he had previously.. However life-changing work such as this is only made possible because of your support. Whether you wish to volunteer, or you purchase Trade Aid products, everything contributes to the organisation’s commitment to help communities around the world overcome poverty and inequality. We thank Helen Stiff, and Trade Aid for their generous sponsorship of Youth Declaration 2012. For more information, visit www.tradeaid.org.nz
You’d expect that a dance floor filled with 140 students who have given up their weekend to debate and formulate statements about issues facing New Zealand would be pretty darn awkward. Surprisingly the dance floor filled up pretty quickly once the beats started pumping as the participants relished the opportunity to let their body do the talking after an intense day of focus sessions and expert panels. After 2 hours of jumping, grooving and shouting, our welfare officers’ magical skills and the Disney princess band-aids were not needed and the participants headed home for some much needed recovery. Social event @ Cap & Gown? GREAT SUCCESS.
PHOTO LOLS
BE SOCIAL: UNYOUTHNZ