Whakaaro Marama – The Clear Thinkers | Ōtorohanga District Council

Added 4 months ago

Whakaaro Marama – The Clear Thinkers

As part of our work in Community Development, Council are investigating new ways to work with and empower rangatahi. Our current group of focus is Ōtorohanga College.

The Curious Sponge Project, a new annual youth programme which mentors a group of five young people to understand and discuss current issues by attending national youth conference's. Council staff then supports those team members to identify and design a public facing project for our district as their way of giving back.

The 2024 team comprises of; Kaelis Campbell, Taylah Montgomery, Dequan Atarangiata, Kaia Turner, and Samiah Grey and together they are….“Whakaaro Marama – The Clear Thinkers”.

We are excited to be working with these amazing young leaders and will be updating you on the teams project as it unfolds – watch this space!

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“We had the incredible opportunity to send a group of five Year 12 students accompanied by Jennifer (Year 12 and 13 Dean) and Nicky from Ōtorohanga Council to Wellington in July for the Festival for the Future at the TSB Arena.

This amazing festival focuses on addressing our most pressing issues and empowers young leaders like us to create positive change through social enterprises, community initiatives, and advocacy.

We’ve been given a budget from the Ōtorohanga Council to develop a project designed to benefit rangatahi and the community, is about Ōtorohanga, and is created specifically for our local community.

To make this happen, we’ve committed to meeting Nicky and Jen every week during our school breaks. We spend an hour each week organising and developing our project, working hard to ensure that our ideas will have a real, positive impact on Ōtorohanga.

This experience highlights our dedication to leadership and to making a difference in our community.

Highlights of the Festival for the Future for us included;

Tāme Iti talking about how he was shy at 18 and now at 72 he is standing in front of the future leaders, learning about other peoples identities.
The girls from Opotiki wanting change for their small town and opening doors for themselves by saying ‘yes’ to help, and to not change yourself for anyone- its ok to be different and just be yourself”.