$5000 win will support youth training in design

Celebrating the scholarships, from left, Damian Herrick (AMP Auckland), Monika Welch, Ana Heremaia, Ruby Watson, Ryan Lambert, Richard Gerard (AMP Dynamics) and Tony Walker (AMP Dynamics).

The winner of a $5000 "do your thing" scholarship plans to use the money to set up summer workshops for Kaikohe youth.

Architect Ruby Watson, co-founder of a youth training programme called Akau, beat more than 120 applicants from Puhoi to the Cape to win the AMP Dynamics scholarship.

Set up in November 2014, Akau is training four young people in the basics of design and architecture by putting them to work on real-life projects.

The students have so far brought one product to market - a stool inspired by the shape of a waka paddle - and are working on an upgrade of Miria Marae at Waiomio.

Ms Watson, who received the award at a ceremony in Kerikeri on November 4, said the money would be used to run a second series of free summer workshops for Kaikohe youth.

Last summer's workshops taught everything from design basics to creative jelly-making and included the transformation of a vacant lot in the centre of town.

Akau co-founder Ana Heremaia said the aim was to help young people find their potential and purpose.

It was already producing a ripple effect with positive spin-offs for the students' whanau and the community.

Akau is also working on a taonga trail to help make Kaikohe people proud of what their town already has.

The scholarships are offered annually by Northland financial planning company AMP Dynamics.

This year's 122 applicants were narrowed down to 10 finalists by online voting. A judging panel then whittled them down to the top three and, with some difficulty, to one winner.

Runners-up Monika Welch and Ryan Lambert, both of Kerikeri, each received $1000 towards their projects.

Ms Welch, an artist and founder of a charity for needy families, wants to set up an online art course. Mr Lambert, a high school student, wants to harness information technology to help others with cleft palate.

AMP Dynamics general manager Tony Walker said the scholarship criteria were extremely broad.

"We look for people with passion who want to achieve something. There wasn't a bad idea among this year's applicants. They were all cool people wanting to do cool things," he said.

The judges were Mr Walker, NZME Northland general manager Greg Alexander, of Whangarei, and motoring writer and Signpost North editor Sandy Myhre of Kerikeri. NZME owns the Northern Advocate and Northland Age.