Youth projects benefit from grant

MANAWATU District Council has been granted $30,000 from the Ministry of Youth Development’s.Youth Development Partnership Fund to bolster and support youth engagement in the region.

The partnership fund provides an opportunity for councils, young people aged 12 to 24 years and the ministry to work together on local youth development projects.

Community and Strategic Development Officer, Tracey Hunt, said council was delighted to receive the grant for use over the next year for Manawatu Youth Forum, known as Respect All People (RAP), which incorporates youth forums and pre-prepared photo-voice presentations.

“Photo-voice effectively enables young people to participate in research and communicate their beliefs and needs through photographic imagery,” said Ms Hunt. “The young people decide upon elements of the photo-voice project to 'action', enabling them to become actively involved in solutions.”

She said RAP, which began in 2009 as a pilot programme, was initiated as a response to the need for young people to be involved in decision-making at the local level and provide opportunities for their views to be expressed.

“Photo-voice has been the chosen method of communication and youth development, with initial projects focusing on safety.”

Ms Hunt said photo-voice had been widely recognised internationally and within New Zealand as an innovative approach to empower youth, whose voices were often silenced, to participate in research and enable them to communicate their beliefs and needs.

Photo-voice projects were youth-led, contributed to youth wellbeing and addressed social issues as seen through their eyes.

“As a council we want to assist our young people to identify their own issues, make decisions and become involved in community actions and solutions that are meaningful to them.”

Ms Hunt said the photo-voice projects were expertly facilitated by Lisa Foggin, of Te Manawa Services, with support from schools, the RAP committee and council.

The RAP project targets all school pupils in the Manawatu District, with seven schools (Awahou, Feilding Intermediate, Feilding High School, Cheltenham, Hato Paora College, Bunnythorpe and St Josephs Feilding) preparing photo-voice presentations last year.