Employers are now looking for highly educated, technologically literate employees.Īll these demands can place enormous pressures on our young people. There is also a risk that, should they fall behind in education, they will find it increasingly difficult to fully participate in our technology driven society.Įmployment opportunities for everyone, and particularly the young are changing. They may also come under extreme pressure, through the influence of the rapidly expanding media and world of advertising, to look and behave in certain ways. Young people are exposed to more risks and temptations than earlier generations. The information and technology revolution has made today's young people the best informed of any in history.īut with the many benefits of technology come some drawbacks. Incredibly mankind's knowledge is currently doubling every 10 years.

We all know the world is changing very, very fast.

There are of course many challenges we must face, whether the we is the Government, a voluntary organisation, or the local community. I believe, and research shows, that where young people have a solid grounding in their own culture they are more able to meet life's challenges. In my role as Minister of Cultural Affairs I have been fortunate to meet many young New Zealanders from many different ethnic backgrounds who make up our culturally rich and diverse nation. This diversity is not unique to Northland however.Īs we found at the last Census, Maori youth in particular, and Pacific and Asian youth also, comprise a greater proportion of our young people. We need to do more to recognise the calibre and capacity of our young people and encourage them in to government at all levels.Īs you know in Northland we have a diverse youth population. And in Parliament there is just one representative who is under 30 - Nanaia Mahutu, a Labour list MP. Just one percent of the total number of members.Ĭurrently just 27 or four percent of elected members are in the 30-39 age group. The survey of local authority elected members conducted after the 1998 local government elections shows there are just six elected members under the age of 30. While many young people take an active role in school-life, in community organisations and particularly sports clubs, all too few are involved in local body politics and in government. The Government provides leadership, through agencies like the Ministry of Youth Affairs, but relies on the support and commitment of local government, communities, families and organisations like Rotary, to ensure that these ideals become concrete actions.Ī critical step needs to be ensuring we all encourage young people to participate in decision making processes particularly when it comes to decision making on issues affecting them.īy giving young people the opportunity to be decision makers we are ensuring they learn important skills as well as help us to use the positive contribution young people can make to New Zealand's economic, social and cultural development.

Once we all recognise that young people are stakeholders, then we can all act to ensure that they have the resilience to cope with rapid social change, are able to build their own personal development, and thus contribute to the overall development of our country. I believe a strong cultural identity is paramount to our survival in this global age where the world stage is shrinking and as a consequence our young people are placed under enormous pressure.įor this reason I urge you all to think of our young, both now and in the future, as stakeholders in our community. While each of our ages brings its own challenges, joys and heartaches, it is important for us all to work together and be part of one national community. I am particularly pleased to see several young people, both from New Zealand and overseas, represented at your conference. Then I hope you will forgive me as I transgress a little and speak on a subject close to my heart - Anzac Day. I also want to give you an overview of how my own Ministry works in relationship to youth and cultural identity. I want to challenge all of you to extend your thinking about our young people and go beyond seeing young people as the at-risk group, or as adults-in-waiting. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today.

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