Our First Slice OF YOUTH

Date and time : 28th May 2016 at 6:30-8:00
​Venue : EPIC Innovation Centre


Our MC for the night was the lovely Katie McMahon, executive member of the Christchurch Youth Council

Speaker 1
April McLennan - Limitless
Website :http://www.limitless.org.nz/
Email :april@limitless.org.nz

April spoke about her project Limitless. Limitless is a program which April Founded in early 2016, having brought this idea to life when she took part in the Live the Dream social enterprise course. It was there that she realised that most of us will spend 80,000 hours working yet the majority of us don’t like or enjoy the jobs we do. April then decided to do something about that.

Limitless has 2 parts, part 1 is an event incorporating workshops that exist to equip students with an awareness of their strengths & passions and give them goal setting skills to succeed. The event will also feature talks by inspirational individuals who do work they are passionate about. She’s recently announced the dates for her event, October 13th and 14th where she will bring together 200 Year 10 students.

Part 2 is an ICT portal that will connect event attendees with opportunities for development such as work experience, mentoring, skills for success, youth initiatives they can join and more. April and her team will be collaborating with current successful youth organizations to be the middle man that connects the right people to the right opportunities.

Also on the horizon is Limitless currently being in the process of registering as a charitable trust. April is an inspiring speaker, changing the view of many in the room as to what young people can achieve. We look forward to seeing what she will do in the future.


Speaker 2
Renea Mackie - Developster
Website : https://developster.io/
Email : renea@reneamackie.com ,

Renea spoke about Developster: Connecting Teenage Entrepreneurs. Developster is a relatively new project, being developed by students at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery School. Starting from students playing around with designing apps, a class was specifically designed and led by Renea to allow students to have time during school to dedicate towards this work. Each student has particular skills, whether it be graphic design, coding, the likes. Renea works as the ‘teen unicorn herder’ with the students, Caleb (Business Developster), Kaleb (Junior front-end developer), Eiko (Graphic Designer, PR and Marketing), Asher (Head Developer, Fullstack), and Ben (Project Manager, Filmmaker). With their youngest team member being 14, this team has a huge amount of potential! Our favourite blog post from the team is ‘Goodbye Nights and Weekends - Hello Start-Up World!’’ which can be found at https://www.developster.io/post/untitled-3

Developster is still a work in progress. We were fortunate enough to have Eiko present as well, who discussed what it’s like to be able to undertake this project in the classroom, the opportunities to get NCEA credits for the work they do, and the incredible people they have as mentors. Various organisations or entrepreneurs have worked closely by offering advice or mentoring for the team. There is also interest overseas, with students from Australia looking to replicate the same classroom model in their own communities. Renea highlighted how the concept is for anyone - it can be adapted and changed to suit your needs. We were in awe of Developster’s achievements, and look forward to seeing its progress! We also love the emphasis on different means of education, and many of those in attendance discussed the possibility of their own schools developing such opportunities.



Shoutouts

We had the chance to hear heaps of fantastic shout outs! Thanks to all of you who got involved. We've only published the ones we have contact details for, so if your shout out isn't up here, get in touch and we can add it in.

- Martina Moroney from One School Network spoke about their relaunch! OSN is a way to connect leaders of various Christchurch schools together. If you have an initiative you think all schools should work together on i.e. food banks, or looking to join, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OneSchoolNetwork/?fref=ts

- Bounce.org.nz looking for volunteers! If you're keen to be involved in this awesome organisation which focuses on wellbeing, get in touch! Check out their Facebook to find out more about what they're up to: https://www.facebook.com/bounce.org.nz/?fref=ts

- Calling all those looking to start up an enterprise or needing to chat about an idea! Want help making your dreams become a reality? Ministry of Awesome has an in-house Start-Up Activator who can help you see your idea become something incredible. Check out their website: http://ministryofawesome.com

- Christchurch Youth Council's Secretary, Liam Stretch, is passionate about creating youth spaces in Christchurch, and is looking to connect keen young people that want to be involved in the process. If this is your thing, contact Liam at  liamstretch5@hotmail.com

- Student Volunteer Army (SVA) offers volunteering opportunities throughout Christchurch. If you're a high school student looking for ways to get hours in for volunteering, SVA can help! www.sva.org.nz

- Christchurch City Libraries is embracing the message that libraries are about more than books, and are looking for feedback as to how they can improve what they offer and libraries can be a more youth friendly space. Got an idea? Head to your local library and let them know!

- Emi Tapley is a trained Yoga instructor, looking to teach people about mindfulness. To find her teaching timetable or to enquire about booking Emi for classes, get in contact via her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groundednessyoga/?fref=ts

- Zac Porter from Christchurch District Health Board (CDHB) Youth Advisory Council spoke of what the YAC does and that they're looking for new members. If you're a young person that has been through the health system and looking to be involved in positive change, check out their Facebook page to get in touch: https://www.facebook.com/CDHB-Youth-Advisory-Council-579162268853418/?fref=ts





Photo credit to Erica Austin, Peanut Productions Photography.