The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO has appointed five new members to its UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders group. They are [listed in alphabetical order]: Liletina Vaka, Māia Tapsell, Morgan King, Nick Mailau and Shahin Najak. Raven Maeder is the group’s new Chair, taking over from Danielle Newton. As Special Advisor – Youth she will… Read more »

Nola Smart has spent her summer doing an internship in Vietnam through a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia (PMSA). She writes about the experience. PMSA is a programme provided by the New Zealand Government to: enrich New Zealand’s ability to engage with Asian partners improve the international skills of our workforce establish connections between countries… Read more »

Are you a young person committed to promoting peace and social justice in New Zealand and the Pacific? Then the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO wants to hear from you! We’re currently inviting applications from youth aged between 18 and 25 to join our UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders. The group consists of young leaders… Read more »

We supported UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Raven Maeder to attend the Ocean Youth Leadership Summit in Bali, Indonesia in October. She reports back. I feel extremely privileged to have been supported by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO to attend the Summit, which was held from 28-30 October. The National Commission recognised this as… Read more »

A reflection by Ashlee Peacock, UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader, who held an interactive workshop at the Wellington Create1World event. Create1World is an awesome initiative by Massey University that promotes “how creativity can help us better understand and resolve global problems faced by humanity in the 21st Century”. I was able to attend on behalf of the… Read more »

UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Injy Johnstone represented the National Commission as part of a panel on climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s NGO Policy Forum in October. Alongside Climate Ambassador Jo Tyndall and Dr Siautu Alefaio-Tugia from Massey University, she discussed how to collectively go about ‘flipping the switch from mitigation… Read more »

UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Raven Maeder attended the Forest and Bird Youth Council event ‘Ngā here: many connections’ on 26 September. She writes about the experience. Held at Victoria University, Ngā here was a youth-led career and opportunity development event. Its purpose was to enable students to engage with a range of professionals working a… Read more »

UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Raven Maeder and Chair Robyn Baker attended the Conservation Week 2018 cocktail function at the Sustainability Trust in Wellington on 20 September. Raven reflects on the evening. It was a great pleasure and privilege to be in the presence of so many people working to protect our national Tāonga at the… Read more »

For the third year running, the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust ran the Tiaki programme, which partners South Auckland schools with local businesses to carry out unique environmental innovation projects aimed at enhancing their local area. UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Nola Smart represented the National Commission at the one-day Tiaki Expo. She reports back. August 10… Read more »

Our UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders ran a stand at the Festival for the Future event in Wellington from 27-29 July. The Festival for the Future showcases youth-led innovation. It brings together a diverse range of emerging leaders to connect, showcase what’s possible and create the future. Ashlee Peacock reports back. “Ka mua, ka muri – you must… Read more »