If Aotearoa New Zealand aspires to be
“the best place in the world for
children and young people”[1] , the
policy development process needs to
account for the diverse backgrounds,
needs, interests and aspirations of all
young people who call Aotearoa New
Zealand home. Over twenty percent
of New Zealand’s population identify
with African, Asian, Continental European, Latin American or Middle
Eastern ethnic groups. Collectively,
they represent over 200 ethnicities
and speak over 170 languages. Of this
group, approximately 40% would
classify as young people. [2] However,
young ethnic people report that they
feel unseen and unheard in Aotearoa
New Zealand society. Their voices
need to be considered in the policy-
generation process and innovative
solutions are required to address
ethnic young people’s unique
participation barriers.
A team consisting of young people
and adults working with the Centre
for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies at the
University of Auckland – Waipapa
Taumata Rau and the Innovation Unit
partnered with the Ministry of Youth
Development (MYD) - Te Manatū
Whakahiato Taiohi to co-design and
implement an innovative initiative to address this noted policy gap. The
following sections of this report
provide an overview of the 18-month
project, which was delivered over
multiple phases with ethnic young
people, community leaders and
policymakers. The project focused on
ideating, prototyping, implementing
and testing a co-designed innovation
based on insights about the ethnic
youth policy participation gap gained
from interviews, community
engagement hui and a review of
existing research evidence. (From the document). Record #8296