Whanganui Council's Youth Council and Whanganui Secondary Schools Youth Empowering Sport Squad (YESS Council), both made up of youth, have collaborated to create Awhi te Rangatahi: a competition to ignite fun for youth, by youth, in Whanganui.
Rangatahi know best what inclusive projects, events, or programmes through sport, active recreation, or play, would connect their community, and winning Awhi te Rangatahi means funding to make it happen.
The process is simple: come up with the great idea and complete the application. A shortlist of entries, determined by Whanganui Council's Youth Council and YESS Council, can then be presented to the councils to decide which event best fits the brief and award the money to the winner.
Awhi te Rangatahi is open to any rangatahi: groups or individuals, sports clubs, and community organisations.
Abbey Peters and Eloise Bradshaw, students at Cullinane college and YESS Council members, see Awhi te Rangatahi as a way to help youth find new connections and activities in their community.
"We hope that Awhi te Rangatahi inspires people to come up with an aim to achieve for their group to get rangatahi involved in their chosen activity. It also gives the opportunity for smaller sports to get their name out there so our young people can help their sport grow. This will help our young people find new passions that they wouldn't have discovered otherwise."
The key to the success of Awhi te Rangatahi is for sports clubs and organisations to use the application process as an opportunity to support rangatahi to lead the idea generation, planning and delivery.
Danny Jonas, chief executive of Sport Whanganui, is looking forward to seeing what great ideas come forward through the application process.
"Sport Whanganui has worked alongside the YESS Council for over five years, and the rangatahi involved are smart, switched-on individuals, who want the best for their community of youth. We 100 per cent support the concept of 'By Youth for Youth', as a way of encouraging rangatahi to get active and connected, their way."
Once a winner has been announced there will be plenty of time for planning because the winners have a full year to host the event or activity. The team at Sport Whanganui are happy to share event knowledge and resources and lend a hand with marketing too.
"Besides creating a great event or activity, Awhi te Rangatahi also gives youth a chance to learn some new skills, from the application process through to running the event. The team at Sport Whanganui are happy to assist the winning entry with our collective knowledge. But the event is theirs, we are simply here to support," says Danny Jonas.
• Applications are now open. To apply, please see the link below. Applications close on March 16. For more information or support with your application, please email dinelle@sportwhanganui.
https://form.jotform.com/220157065406045
The Process
March 16 - Application closing date.
March 25 - Whanganui Council's Youth Council and Whanganui Secondary Schools Youth Empowering Sport Squad(YESS Council) will shortlist applications and contact all applicants.
March 30 - Each shortlisted applicant will be asked, on this day, to present their idea in a brief, face-to-face catch-up with the panel. Once all shortlisted presentations are completed, the best idea for the rangatahi community will be announced the next day, on March 31.
The Whanganui Secondary Schools Sports Council renamed by the students as YESS (Youth Empowering Sports Squad) is a council of students with the purpose of creating a link between the student body and "Sport in Whanganui". A formal platform for student voice to be heard and influence decisions related to secondary school sport.
The purpose of Whanganui District Council's Youth Council is to empower young people to be the best they can be by providing resources and opportunities they need to succeed. It is made up of 14 diverse young people ranging in age from 12 to 24. Their job is to speak up, speak out and be heard on issues that affect youth in our city.