Because I said so...

Students from around the Bay of Plenty learned how hard making decisions can be at the annual Youth Jam in Rotorua in June. Nearly 50 secondary students from six Bay of Plenty schools learned that the Youth Jam catchphrase “because I said so” wasn’t an option when making democratic decisions. Hosted by the Regional Council, Youth Jam is a secondary schools event to foster environmental awareness, youth leadership and participation in civic issues.

This year’s focus was giving Bay of Plenty youth opportunities to take part in local government decision making processes, in particular the Regional Council’s Ten Year Plan. Students explored four Regional Council priority programmes – Tauranga Harbour, Rotorua Lakes, Regional Economic Development and Public Transport, interviewed experts and weighed up what issues were most important to young people. A delegation from Youth Jam got the chance to speak directly to decision makers when they presented their collective point of view to Councillors at a planning workshop, effectively representing 7,000 young voices. This was a first for council, and hopefully it has inspired students and teachers a like to have their say.

See what students and teachers had to say about the experience:

Students

• Tauranga Girls College Year 11 student Morgan Heslop said “the best part of Youth Jam was being able to express my own views and being able to bounce them off other people. It’s great getting the opportunity to go to council, and for them to hear the views of youth,” she said.
  
  
• Otumoetai College’s Jake Anderton enjoyed the opportunity to speak freely and have fun. “No one beats up on other people here. Everyone’s open,” he said.
  
  
• Jack Weston, a Year Nine student from Rotorua Lakes High School, was one of the youth leaders and helped organise and manage the event. “I learned a bit about facilitating – that it’s best to break the ice at the start. Doing this was starting our school on the way to go more environmentally friendly,” he said.
  
• Kawerau College’s Kathleen Frewen (Year 10) enjoyed hearing the views of others on the environment and the things our youth have to say. “I enjoyed learning about things I didn’t know,” she said. “I want to go into politics and put it out there to save stuff for our next generation.”

Teachers

• Thanks for an awesome couple of days over Youth Jam. Kelly Baxter, Tauranga Girls’ College 
  
  
• Restored my faith. Peter Fergusson, Whakatāne High School
  
  
• Students were able to pin point their concerns as a cohesive group. Carol Gibson, Kawerau College