WE Speak: Local young people spoke!

Our local youth advocate and Hagley-Ferrymead Christchurch City Councillor for our area, Yani Johanson, oversaw the four workshops of the day. Johanson is regarded as a local hero by many of Christchurch's youth, as he has succeeded in making positive changes for the city's young people and continues to be a champion of youth related issues.

Bitter cold and incessant rain provided the backdrop to the day where topics from drugs and alcohol, sexuality, health, the environment, bullying and youth perception were discussed. Whilst these teen-related subjects have been on the agenda since the first youth forum back in 2006, for many there was a frustration that not enough was being done to resolve the issues facing the nation's youth and that solutions were urgently required.

A broad mix of youth from across the city took on the task of discussing, brainstorming and providing solutions to many of the issues that dog them. Students from the Van Asch School sat next to the young mum's and babies Kimihia Parents' College in Linwood. Youths from most of Christchurch's secondary schools were represented. The mood of the conference was one of positive action.

In a year that has seen Kiwi youth maligned by the media, Christchurch Youth are no closer to seeing their city cater to their needs, requirements and their future, despite their generation representing 20% of the city's population.

Demands for an under age venue, better late night transport and more youth related events were at the top of the wish list to make Christchurch a better city for youth.

Drink and Drugs

The desire for more information on the long term effects of alcohol abuse and setting sensible drinking limits clashed with the fact that many teens drink to the point of obliteration because it's socially acceptable, it's Kiwi culture and no action is ever taken because of political cowardice. A solution would be for alcohol to be declassified as a mainstream good in supermarkets and price limits set. Buying unlimited amounts of alcohol presented no problems for anyone.

Prescription drugs and high-dose caffeine drinks were also regarded as seriously damaging to health. Many youths have been offered prescription drugs for sale at school and feel more could be done about advertising the dangers of using and abusing pills. Energy Drinks are also regarded as dangerous and should have age restrictions but they are being consumed by kids as young as 12 and pose serious health consequences. The forum felt drug and alcohol laws need to be updated to take into account these current trends.

Environment

The entire forum agreed more needed to be done by the older generation about protecting the environment. The climate change issue is fast becoming their generation's problem but many simple solutions were offered up, from making all packaging environmentally friendly, providing subsidies for 'green' transportation and makers of 'green' products. All of the youth assembled felt it was their responsibility to do their bit, from cleaning up parks and river banks to recycling and being conscious of their litter.

Education

New Zealand's education system took a battering from Christchurch students, who regarded the NCEA qualification as ineffective and expensive. A better alternative would be for an internationally accepted qualification, free to all students. Too much emphasis was put on exams and the time required to pass them and not enough emphasis on learning. Students felt schools needed to focus more on life skills, financial literacy and being taught how to prepare a CV.

The same issues faced school leavers, not enough jobs or training opportunities high unemployment, poor pay rates and not enough focus from the government about the young generation's future prospects.

Social issues

The Forum delegates were unimpressed that racism, discrimination and lack of respect to individual cultures and religions continue to be a problem in NZ. For many, the solution was to embrace different cultures and religions and to accept different traditions, all of which would benefit multi-culturalism for future generations. Teen stereotypes were annoying and the media's portrayal of women was a passionate subject, with weight and image being held up as a fake ideal and the cause of much anxiety in both sexes.

Health

The closure of the 198 Health Centre will start to impact heavily on the city's youth, who saw the organisation as a one stop shop for all their health needs. Many worried they wouldn't know where to go now. Christchurch health services are fragmented across the city and information relevant to their needs was hard to come by.

Otautahi Youth Council will be compiling the results of the conference and presenting them to local and central government.

[For more information, please contact Jacqui McCabe on 021 251 1801 or Anthony Rohan on 021 746 733.]