Whanganui teenager Elliot Jones one of three finalists for Young New Zealander of the Year award

Elliot Jones says around 2000 people were nominated from around the country. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui teenager Elliot Jones is in with a shot to be crowned Young New Zealander of the Year thanks to his documentary about living with dyslexia.

Jones, a former Whanganui Collegiate student who was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 12, has been named as one of three finalists out of around 2000 nominations.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes it far harder to learn to read, write or do number work.

He said he didn’t even know the New Zealander of the Year award existed until he found out he’d been nominated.

“I got a call saying I was in the final 10 and I was very shocked and excited. That came from around 2000 nominations from around the country.

“After that, I went online to see who else got nominated and I was like ‘wow’. There were some incredible people. There was one from the Forbes 30 under 30 for Asia and another had raised $35 million in venture capital for young entrepreneurship and business.

“Then, the judges cut it down to three.”

Jones was one of them, along with Georgia Latu and Shaneel Lal.

Latu’s Pōtiki Poi business, which uses second-hand materials and biodegrading plastic, is now the biggest poi manufacturer in the world.

Lal spearheaded the movement to end conversion therapy in New Zealand through the Conversion Therapy Action Group, an organisation he founded.

“I just feel really happy to be named alongside them, they’ve done amazing things,” Jones said.

Last year’s winner, Ezra Hirawani, set up his own power company - Nau Mai Rā.

Nominees must be aged between 15 and 30, with judges considering factors such as purpose, impact, commitment and leadership.

The awards ceremony is in Auckland this Saturday (March 25).

Jones has raised over $60,000 for the Dyslexia Foundation through sponsorships and donations and he speaks in schools about the disorder.

“Things like this [Young New Zealander of the Year] are just additional opportunities to push it out there more and get more people involved with the message.

“My new project is working with a couple of other dyslexia advocates on a petition that is currently being considered by a government select committee.

“They [the Government] had an inquiry into dyslexia in 2016 and did some things off the back of that but we are urging them to have another round of changes and continue to improve.”

His documentary, Unlocking Potential, features interviews with Unicef chief executive Michelle Sharp, former All Black and current Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson, Weta Workshop founder Sir Richard Taylor, and world champion shot putter Tom Walsh.

It was a finalist at the Zealand Youth Film Festival (NZYFF) awards last year.

At present, Jones is working part-time and recently signed on as a coach for the Central North Island debating development squad.

He also helped coach the Collegiate Gold debating team to victory at the Central North Island champs for the third year in a row.

“I’ve always got all sorts of ideas bouncing around, it’s more about making the time to make them happen,” he said.