The Howick Youth Council (HYC) is a youth voice organisation covering the region of the Howick Local Board in Auckland, New Zealand.

Howick Youth Council
FoundedAugust 2011
TypeYouth council, youth empowerment, youth voice
Location
Region
East Auckland, New Zealand
AffiliationsHowick Local Board
Websitehttps://www.howickyouthcouncil.org.nz

The council runs events in east Auckland, advocates on behalf of youth and facilitates Auckland Council consultation. Operating in the suburbs of Howick, Pakuranga, Botany Downs and Ormiston, the group represents the youth in the population of 140,000 people living in the boundaries of the Howick Local Board.[1]

Structure

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The council has roughly two dozen members, with a chairperson[2] and deputy chair.[3][4] The council is primarily funded by the Howick Local Board.[5]

History

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The organisation was created by the Howick Local Board shortly following the board's first meeting, after the 2010 supercity amalgamation and formation of Auckland Council, with the group being founded in August 2011.

The youth council's inaugural meeting was held on 4 August 2011.[6] The organisation was initially coined the "Howick Local Board Youth Council", with its portfolio initially assigned to Local Board member David Collings.[7] The group gave its first deputation to the Howick Local Board on 12 December 2011.[8] Following this, the youth council's work programme consisted of several events including a yearly "Youth Summit".[9][10] The group has worked in advocating for a youth space in Howick, with a feasibility study commissioned and published in 2017.[11]

In 2018, the council hosted a debate in the 2018 Howick ward councillor by-election. This was produced as part of a series on voter engagement which The New Zealand Herald pegged as "following the lead of [Chloe] Swarbrick".[12] Stuff city hall reporter, Todd Niall, described the debates "as the most engaging campaign meeting I'd attended".[13] A series of videos running on the youth council's Facebook page attained 5500 views.[13] Later in 2019, the youth council advocated for further consultation on a proposed transit route in Pakuranga.[14][15] The group did not take a position on the issue but presented to the Auckland Council's Governing Body.[16] The youth council later presented to the Auckland Youth Advisory Panel on public transport fares.[17][18]

The group has helped organise a variety of events including a youth film festival,[19][20] youth awards,[21] beach clean-up,[22] and charity concert.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Home Page – AucklandCensus". censusauckland.co.nz. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Youth Voting registrations open now". OurAuckland Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  3. ^ "A voice of reason in the contentious Auckland traffic debate". North & South. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  4. ^ Master, Farida (1 August 2019). "Ben selected for UN Youth Global Development Tour". Times. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  5. ^ "FAQs". Howick Youth Council. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Howick Local Board 20110912 Minutes" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  7. ^ "Howick Local Board Agenda 11 July 2011" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  8. ^ "Howick Local Board Minutes – 12 December 2011" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  9. ^ "Howick Youth Council continues to show leadership and action". Vote Damian Light for Council. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  10. ^ Teng, Jean. "Young & restless: The new generation of high school activists". Metro Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2020. One day he could be running a youth summit for high schools around east Auckland, on another pulling together a petition...
  11. ^ Co-Creationz, Gillian Stewart and Val Proud. "Howick Youth Spaces Feasibility Study" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  12. ^ Dunlop, Ryan (11 September 2018). "Youth council follows Swarbrick's lead by creating videos to reach and educate youths". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Is Howick a model to boost voting in Auckland?". Stuff. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Youth Council launches consultation on T2 Lane". Howick & Pakuranga Times. Staff writer. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ "Fears new Auckland busway build could increase congestion on Pakuranga Road". Stuff. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  16. ^ 05.03.19 – Planning Committee – Items 1 – 5, Auckland Council, retrieved 10 January 2020
  17. ^ "Agenda of Youth Advisory Panel – 10 June 2019". infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Calls for free public transport for school and university students". Stuff. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Howick College 2019 Yearbook" (PDF). Howick College.
  20. ^ "HYC Youth Film Festival". Eventbrite. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  21. ^ Birchall, Jim (12 December 2019). "Howick Youth Council recognising youth achievements". Howick & Pakuranga Times. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Students to partake in community event, "Be(ach) A Tidy Kiwi" • BDSC". Botany Downs Secondary College. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Head Students Collaborate for Charity". Pakuranga College. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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