Youth Rōpū – Channeling youth-led ideas into local government
The Christmas cake sits untouched during an interview with Youth Rōpū members Amanda Kennedy and Jolie Sarginson, who represent constituencies on the Environment Canterbury funded forum designed to inject youth perspectives into local government planning and decision-making.
Snap! The young women discover they like dessert trifle instead (the interview is, afterall, taking place in the lead up to Christmas). Snap! They are both articulate and politically astute. Snap! They are both heading into their second term of unpaid youth representation.
“Amanda and I have both just reapplied and been accepted,” explains Jolie, who has successfully completed her second year of indigenous sustainability studies at University of Canterbury. She is a Mana Whenua (Māori) representative on the Youth Rōpū, while high school pupil Amanda is from Christchurch West Ōpuna.
“When you’re in the rōpū you are in a team, you have connections and access to people,” Jolie explains. “You’ve got a lot to do with some of the councillors. A platform and support is what this role gives you.”
The forum is nurtured and overseen by ECan youth engagement staff. Rōpū members are appointed from an application process rather than voted in, and so don’t have to be directly accountable to their ‘constituency’. Amanda and Jolie say this allows rōpū members to take more of an inclusive approach to representing youth opinion, rather than being beholden to a geographical area or any dominant socio-demographic group.
“We want to gain diversity, so we have people from all walks of life [contributing] and who’ve experienced different versions of Canterbury,” says Amanda.
Both have stepped into committee roles – of secretary and deputy chair, respectively – although they stress that the rōpū’s committee structure “is quite flat”. Amanda is the logistics whizz in her role as secretary, while Jolie has taken on the responsibilities of deputy chair.
Each rōpū member (at present there are 14) connects with sub-groups called hoe that focus on different topics of youth interest; a process that somewhat mirrors the sub-committees of council. Hoe, meaning ‘waka paddles’, references the Maori whakataukī (proverb) ‘He Waka Eke Noa’: ‘we’re all in this together.
To enhance further the breadth of youth opinion channeled to local government decision-makers, the rōpū also enlists the help of youth beyond its membership. A key win for the year was securing official youth representation on a council sub-committee.
“One of our biggest achievements this year was to get two youth representatives – not from the rōpū – on to an actual council committee; they have full voting rights,” says a thrilled Amanda.
“When we talk about it being a big accomplishment … it’s because they had to be voted on by the councillors and it was a very close vote!”.
Despite acknowledging there are still some bumps and barriers to full youth participation in local governance, both Youth Rōpū members says it’s “awesome” that businesses and councillors are reaching out to the forum for input and advice.
“People are recognising the Youth Rōpū and they want our voice; this is what we’re doing this for,” says Jolie.
Amanda is also excited by the establishment of a public transport youth reference group, which she will be a part of when it forms in the new year.
(Dec 2023)
