My Account
From left, Kate Jack, Matilda White, Wade Hunter, Liam McIntyre, Eve Bain, Rebecca Zhong, Cameron Rossouw, Sam De Jong, Atanas Tomovski
Students from Whangaparaoa College are fighting back against the perception that youth are disinterested in political decision-making, having eight students accepted to attend the Aotearoa Youth Declaration conference.
The event was held in Auckland last month and is described as “giving aspiring leaders the platform to voice their opinions about policy making in NZ”. It is a student run event organised under the UN Youth branch.
Whangaparaoa College Head Boy, Cameron Rossouw, says that High School Ambassadors, Rebecca Zhong and Atanas Tomovski in particular worked to drive enthusiasm and interest among students at the school and assist with the application process.
“Because of their involvement Whangaparaoa College was represented by eight students at the conference, a significant increase from previous years,” Cameron says. “All students found the experience enlightening and felt that their opinions had been heard and valued.”
Another driving factor was the success of former Whangaparaoa College student and Dux Eve Bain. Eve was a conference assistant at the event and also has practical knowledge of work with United Nations NZ.
“Though she has left the school she continues to inspire students to pursue their interests and have an active say in decision making.”
