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Our Vision at the YWCA of Aotearoa- New Zealand is of a fully inclusive world where justice, peace, health, human dignity, freedom and care for the environment are promoted and sustained through women's leadership
We beleive this goal is only attainable through proactive initiatives, which is why we make a commitment to young women's leadership through training, support, 'Y' Programmes such as our Y-Dub Clubs and Future Leaders programmes, scholarships and much more.
At the Hamilton YWCA the Y-Dub Club is a Leadership Programme intended for young women who with the right guidance and encouragement can become great leaders!
At the Whangarei YWCA the Y-Dub Club is an informal group for young women in secondary school. Once a week a Youth Co-ordinator visits young women at various high schools during their lunch hour to discuss youth issues and plan activities amongst other things.
The Future Leaders Programme offered at the YWCA Auckland provides mentoring, practical support and skills development to young women who show leadership potential, but who need one-on-one support in order to achieve at a high level.
In 2008 the YWCA of Aotearoa-NZ is able to offer four subsidies of $1500 for young women to attend an Outward Bound course. These subsidies are available to young women 30 and under who, because of economic hardship, would not otherwise be able to attend. In order to be eligible for a subsidy each young woman needs to be supported by their local YWCA (link to find the Y in your community). If there is not a YWCA in your area an application can be made through the National Office. There are certain commitment requirements that need to be met in order to be eligible for the subsidies, so be sure to discuss these with your supporting YWCA. To download an application form just click here, and for further information contact your local YWCA.
The following YWCA's offer scholarships to students in their regions for more information link to their website;
Youth The YWCA of Aotearoa NZ is an advocate for the rights of young people in Aotearoa. We work with a handful of organisations such as the Global Education Centre GEC and New Zealand Aotearoa Adolescent Health and Development NZAAHD on issues that affect young people.
We've developed our DIY Guide on how young people can find their voice and create change in their world and are part of the steering committe for the Involve 08 conference. We believe youth are an invaluable part of our society who should be nurtured to succeed and we aim to change society's sometimes negative perceptions of young people.
Involve 08: Relate. 2-4 July 2008, Wellington
A conference about 'Young People and Quality Relationships'
Keynotes are internationally renowned psychologist Dr Robert Epstein, the international youth development and identity expert Ann-Marie Tupuola, and the locally-famous, but globally-focussed, Justin Duckworth.
Involve is more than a conference.
It is an experience.
A meeting of hearts and minds.
Bringing together over 500 diverse people who work with young people: youth workers, policy analysts, peer support workers, health workers, youth health and development providers, practitioners, clinicians, educators, professionals, young people, counsellors, social workers and more.
Early Registrations have opened and Calls for Abstracts to present at Involve are out. If you are interested in presenting and/or attending check out the official Involve website
The YWCA of Aotearoa NZ, NZAAHD & Save the Children New Zealand recently held a public forum on the issues that surround the question of lowering the voting age. We had a speakers panel of Dr Cindy Kiro (Children’s Commissioner), Dr Fiona Beals (Lecturer, Vic Uni), Sonny Thomas (Young person), and Zack Dorner (Young Green) and a great turn out of a mixture of the young and young at heart at Zeal in Wellington to discuss the issues. The fabulous MC Rod Baxter from BGI facilitated the discussion and many important wider issues around how society views youth were raised.
Cindy Kiro, Children's Commissioner speaks at the event
The event was held on the anniversary of NZ women being given the vote. NZ was the first country to allow women to vote on 19 September 1893 and the similarities between the campaigns was apparent. It was clear from the event that further discussion and information sharing is essential. If you are interested in holding a similar event in your local community feel free to get in touch on info@ywca.org.nz and we can share with you the process we went through.
To read a Frequently Asked Questions pamphlet prepared by the Greens click here
