Next generation fosters positive action

The Youth Collective. From left: Nurain Janah, Alex Johnston and Shreya Rao. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

Aucklanders tell us about the great things they're creating in their communities. Today: Youth get involved

I will tread carefully this week. Last week I was reprimanded - not a bit grumpily, you understand - for stereotyping old people in local politics as grumpy.

But I just can't help enthusing about the way the next generation of our city's citizen-activists go about their work, how it differs from my baby-boomer view of the world. Something about their optimism, their sense of obligation to future generations, not just their own.

I'd bumped into an enthusiastic bunch of students back in September who'd reclaimed bits of High St for PARK(ing) Day - the annual global event where people pop temporary parks into parking spaces.

Turned out these were members of the Waitemata Youth Collective. They'd installed fake grass, pallet platforms and were giving away books and their maps of MyAKL. The dozen or so volunteers who live, work or study in the city advise the local board, replacing an earlier Youth Action in the City crowd.

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Co-chair Nurain Janah explains: "We provide a voice for young people; there are lots of us here, but in the past it was professional adults or retailers who were having the say."

"We were talked about, rather than spoken to," adds Shreya Rao.

"In a vibrant, sustainable city, young people are empowered as decision-makers," says Alex Johnston. "It's not boring or dry, we want to make it vibrant."

While they are all on the university track - Nurain has a masters in accounting, Shreya qualified in mental health and Alex is studying law and arts - the trio are at pains to emphasise that they represent everyone: homeless folks, transgender youth, international students, any young people who may not otherwise have a voice. They see the city attracting people from all over. Not unlike themselves. Nurain emigrated from the Maldives with her parents 10 years ago. Shreya's family is from India; she grew up in Mt Roskill so is familiar with first- generation poverty. Both women speak of the balancing act between their adopted and ancestral homes. Alex's folks are from Wellington, he now lives off K Rd but he also found the city difficult to navigate.

The group's first big project was to develop a pocket-sized map of the city annotated with the sorts of things they all needed to know when they first arrived. Thus post offices, medical and counselling services or Hop card top-ups share listings with the expected eating, hangouts and entertainment spots.

"The city has a lot to offer, but when new people come to the city, it's hard to navigate. We wanted to show what was out there," says Alex. "It's paper, but it's a pilot project for a digital app."

They found one of the biggest gaps for young people are places to hang out that don't require buying a coffee or meal. The group is now lobbying on the consultation for repurposing Ellen Melville hall, part of refurbishing Freyburg Square. The collective includes an architect and, with plenty of social media input, they are pitching for it to be a flexible urban lounge, a "making place" for artists and musicians, open to all comers.

They are keen to make this a way of showing other young people how they can start their own community projects or social enterprises. The dead carpark between Basement Theatre and Myers Park also has their attention.

Alongside speaking on behalf of people at the margins, the collective has ambitious plans for 2016: developing the newest "uptown" precinct around Symonds St, creating community gardens, collaborating on cycleways and supporting an art collective around K Rd.

The Waitemata Youth Collective has an active Facebook page and is currently advertising for more 14- to 24-year-olds to sign up for next year.

"Engagement is about participation," says Nurain. "It's a two-way process from us to 'them' - we have to have a voice, encourage youth to be part of the process." Grass roots and high energy - the city has a promising future.