Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

‘We are the future' is the theme of this year's Youth Week happening nationwide from May 23-30.

Youth Week is an opportunity for New Zealanders to celebrate and recognise the extraordinary contribution that young people make.

Local youth agencies and services are working together to take their messages to schools throughout Tauranga. The inaugural Mobile Youth Expo will tour schools, luring students in with warm food and fun activities before they leave with an awareness of how they can seek guidance.

The expo is organised by the Tauranga Youth Development Team – a consortium of agencies and services within the Western Bay of Plenty. It's a successful forum where agencies break down silos to share information and coordinate resources to meet local needs. They are very action driven.

I believe there are two broad categories of issues relating to young people. The first category is ensuring there are opportunities for our best and brightest young people to excel, such as the young innovators awards (www.yia.co.nz) and the young enterprise scheme (www.tauranga.org.nz/young-enterprise-scheme).

The second category is ensuring young people do not fall off vocational pathways, and continue to be constructive members of society. These young people need to know where to find help when they need it.

Tauranga Safe Cities has created a fantastic website (www.teentools.co.nz), full of easy to use tools for parents and teens. The tools are tailored for local needs, which were identified by surveying local teens and parents. It provides tools for hard hitting issues, including issues which weren't around a decade ago, such as cyber-bullying.

Youth issues are generally seen in a negative light, which doesn't reflect the amazing achievements of our local young people that I often hear about.

By 2025, the city's population is projected to have two people outside of the workforce for every one person in the workforce. The city must support our young people as they are critical to ensuring we have a strong workforce that can service our growing retired population.

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 027 6989 548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice