Applications open for PM's Pacific Youth Awards

Applications for the 2011 Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards opened today, giving high-achieving young New Zealanders of Pacific descent the opportunity to have their talent and leadership potential recognised.

Prime Minister John Key says the programme, now in its second year, is designed to highlight the endeavours of outstanding young people.

“The Pacific Youth Awards were launched last year, and the calibre of the winners was extremely high. There is a huge amount of talent and potential among New Zealand’s young people and this is a fantastic opportunity for Pacific communities to encourage their future leaders to realise their dreams.”

In addition to the three original Awards categories, the new Air New Zealand Innovation Award will be launched this year. The award will recognise a young person involved in the engineering field, and comes with entry into the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute’s pre-employment aircraft maintenance programme.

The three other categories are:

• The University of Auckland Award for Leadership
• The Weta Award for Creativity
• The Cogita Software Award for Inspiration

“These awards will help develop leadership potential among young Pacific New Zealanders, as well as opening up study or career options,” says Mr Key.

Applications for the awards close on 4 July 2011.

For more information on the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards or to apply, go to www.pacificyouthawards.org.nz.