Youth Council's leadership and events earn award

Hamilton Youth Council’s initiative and event management work have earned it the Youth Leadership Award at the annual Youth in Local Government Leadership Conference.

The conference, held last week in Invercargill, saw youth advocates and local body politicians attending discuss issues affecting young people and work on ways to build stronger connections between New Zealand’s youth and local government.

The award presenters noted Hamilton Youth Council’s awards application showed a clear process of youth involvement and leadership in the planning and execution of the two events and said this provided a best practice example to other youth councils.

Councillor Margaret Forsyth, who works with Hamilton Youth Council, said: “Hamilton has one of the youngest populations in the country, with 40 per cent of our residents aged under 25. The work Hamilton Youth Council does give young people in our city a voice and engages them in local government, and it is great to see their efforts recognised with this award.”

Logan Reynolds, Youth Council Chair, said: “Our team worked immensely hard last year to organise and execute high-quality events that appealed to young people – the FYI Youth Forum and Recognyz Youth Awards. We’re very proud of our achievement and are looking forward to continuing to bridge the gap between Hamilton’s youth and Hamilton City Council, and getting young people involved in local government.”