UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Peter McKenzie represented the National Commission at the UN Youth NZ 20th birthday celebrations this month. He reflects on the event. UN Youth is a strange organisation. It works tirelessly to increase awareness of international relations and diplomatic practice among the unlikeliest demographic: high school and university students. Not only that,… Read more »
Call for New Zealand UNESCO Memory of the World Register nominations
What documentary heritage would you like see acknowledged on the New Zealand UNESCO Memory of the World register? The UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Trust is calling for nominations by 31 August 2019. This year Aotearoa New Zealand will acknowledge 250 years since the first onshore meetings between Māori and Europeans. 2019… Read more »
Report: Whanganui’s celebration of International Jazz Day
The National Commission provided minor grant funding to support Whanganui’s celebration of International Jazz Day on 30 April. Whanganui Jazz Club president Ken Chernoff reported back on the event. International Jazz Day aligns the remarkable living tradition that is jazz music to the global conversation that rages on about how we can contribute to making… Read more »
Climate change reflections – comparing Colombia and New Zealand
Former UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Injy Johnstone has been doing some climate change work in Colombia through a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Latin America. She compares New Zealand and Colombia’s attitudes and their impacts on climate change. Colombia and New Zealand share a lot, including a love of coffee and indigenous wildlife. However, there are… Read more »
Meet our UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders
The New Zealand National Commission works with a team of 10 young people aged between 18 and 25 called the UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders. Watch their YouTube video introductions to get to know them better! Group members primarily serve as advisors, negotiating inclusive ways for young people to be engaged and empowered in the National… Read more »
Capturing rangatahi voices for Youth Week
UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leader Liletina Vaka took an active part in New Zealand’s National Youth Week recently, working with rangatahi (young people) across West Auckland to capture their stories. Inspired by this year’s theme was ‘We are more than you see’, ‘He wai hōhonu a mātou’ (literally, we are deep waters, thus referring to unseen… Read more »
Climate Challenge Conference
The National Commission sponsored the Climate Challenge Conferences through the 2018/19 UNESCO Contestable Activity Fund. UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders Ashlee, Nola and Liletina attended the Auckland conference and Raven and Morgan went to the Wellington event. Liletina reports back on the Auckland experience. On Saturday 25 May, UNESCO Aotearoa Youth Leaders Ashlee, Nola and Liletina… Read more »
Robyn in Paris
National Commission Chair Robyn Baker has been visiting UNESCO headquarters in Paris this month. The main purpose of her trip is to begin to prepare New Zealand’s approach to engagement at the General Conference in November and to talk with UNESCO leaders about current and emerging issues that are likely to be a focus at… Read more »
Youth Leaders at Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival
UNESCO Youth Leader Charlotte Steel reports back on the Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival, which she and Māia Tapsell participated in. The National Commission sponsored a panel discussion called ‘Te Reo Boom’. Ko taku reo ko taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria. My language is my awakening, my language is the window to… Read more »
Major grant funding round launches
The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO is calling for Expressions of Interest for its contestable funding round by 18 June. Applications are being sought for ‘major grant’ funding worth between $10,000 and $40,000. “We are seeking innovative projects, events, programmes or initiatives that reflect our mission and strategic priorities,” says Robyn Baker, Chair of… Read more »
