Selwyn Youth Applications 2021

Information about youth council membership and activities.

Applications to join the youth council for Springs Ward have been extended to Wednesday 16 December 2020.

Springs Ward includes Prebbleton, Lincoln, Tai Tapu and Springston townships.

Applications for all other wards have now closed.

Applications open in November of each year and if you meet the following criteria, we want to hear from you:

Between 12 - 24 years old as at 1 February 2020
Live within the boundaries of the Selwyn district
Available to attend meetings
Have the ability to work with other people and as part of a team

The youth council membership will provide a broad representation of the Selwyn district youth population including an appropriate balance relating to gender, geography, age, ethnicity and skills.

The youth council membership will represent the four Selwyn district wards as follows:

Selwyn Central Ward - four youth council members
Springs Ward - three youth council members
Malvern Ward - two youth council members
Ellesmere Ward - two youth council members
Te Taumutu Rūnanga - one youth council representative

For more information please refer to the Selwyn Youth Council's Terms of Reference.

What does the Selwyn Youth Council do?

The Selwyn Youth Council provides representation and a voice for the youth in their communities. Members meet monthly to assist and advise the Selwyn District Council on issues relating to youth and to increase the Council's understanding of young people's perspectives and needs.

Here are a few things the youth council have been involved in over the past few months:

Development Day at Ngāti Moki Marae At the start of each year the Youth Council members attend a development day and planning hui at Ngāti Moki Marae. A workshop is held for members to learn about Te Taumutu Rūnanga’s history, values, objectives and their connection to Selwyn. It is an awesome way for the Youth Council to connect, plan their year and understand the role of tangata whenua and strengthen their relationship with Te Taumutu Rūnanga.
What Do YOUth Think Survey The Youth Council organises and administers their What Do YOUth Think Survey annually. The survey focuses on a key project or priority issue for the Selwyn District Council and is designed for young people to have their say. This year the survey was on the design of a new youth space in the Rolleston Town Centre. 365 young people participated and recommendations were provided to Council to consider.
Passion Series Podcasts Recorded 14 podcasts with inspiring speakers who have a passion or hobby outside school or work. They interviewed a whole range of different people who have been doing really cool things with their hobbies. Selwyn youth tuned into the podcasts which were released weekly.
BOOST Bubble Delivered an online wellbeing initiative called BOOST Bubble during lockdown and posted daily to encourage Selwyn young people to do fun healthy activities in their bubbles. The youth council reached over 24,000 accounts and had amazing feedback from young people in the district.
Lincoln Uni Clubs Day Attended the Lincoln Uni Clubs Day to meet with other community groups, clubs, university students and administered the What Do YOUth Think survey.
The Liffey Clean Up Event To link in with the Keep New Zealand Beautiful week in 2020, the youth council organised a clean up event along the Liffey Stream in Lincoln. Volunteers attended on the day and helped pick up rubbish. It was great to see the community come together to keep such an iconic Selwyn stream beautiful.
General Elections Campaign Delivered a General Elections Campaign and Facebook Live Event with the Electoral Commission youth advocates. The youth councillors discussed the importance of enrolling, voting and the two referendums this year. The FB live event had over 600 views!
Malvern Food Drive Supported Two Rivers Community Trust in delivering a Malvern Food drive for families in need in the Darfield community. Donations were dropped off and youth councillors helped to box up all of the goods to be given out that day.