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Debating

issues

Youth Pacific Project

Blaise Turnbull (Year 13) travelled

to Australia and Samoa as the sole

delegate from Christchurch among a

group of ten New Zealand students in

this year’s United Nations sponsored

Youth Pacific Project.

Blaise is a high school ambassador for

Christchurch UN Youth. She says the

real advantage of a trip like this was

how it can “open your eyes to wider

issues and allow you to gain real world

experience”.

The 19-day learning and volunteering

experience was organised by UN Youth

New Zealand. It involved attending

the Australian National Conference in

Canberra. Blaise says as the theme

of the conference was ‘Forces for

Change’, she enjoyed the opportunity

to learn about community engagement

and develop empowerment skills she

could bring back to New Zealand that

would enable her to enact positive

change in her community. She also

represented the Federated States of

Micronesia at the Australian Model

UN Conference, something she says

entailed some thorough research

prior to the trip. Blaise also wrote a

position paper on the ‘Question of Small

Island Developing States and Natural

Disasters and Hazards’.

During the trip to Samoa, the group

visited a development programme

that oversees educational activities,

volunteering and experience

working with NGOs and government

organisations.

GlobalYoung Leaders’

Conference

Sophie Gualter (Year 13) attended the

Global Young Leaders’ Conference in

China in July. The event is a leadership

development programme that draws

students from more than 145 countries

around the world. Sophie spent ten days

travelling around Beijing, Hangzhou

and Shanghai communicating and

collaborating in cross-cultural

seminars, and decision making

workshops.

“This was one of the most enlightening

things I have ever done,” says Sophie.

“I learnt how to recognise and break

cultural barriers in order to form

connections with all people. It doesn’t

matter where people come from we can

all be connected.”

Sophie says highlights of the trip

included visiting an orphanage in Xi’an

and the opportunity to make so many

great life-long friends from around

the planet.

United NationsYouth Conference

A regular participant of the Canterbury

Model United Nations for the last two

years, Daniel Maier-Gant (Year 13) was

thrilled to be named among a group of

20 New Zealand student members that

head to The Hague in January next year

to take part in a United Nations Youth

Conference.

The trip takes in New York, London,

Geneva, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam

and The Hague where the students will

meet New Zealand diplomats and visit

different UN headquarters.

The New Zealand team has a record

seven members from Canterbury

making up a third of the delegation. The

Kiwis have been allocated the United

States as their representative country

and Daniel says that means they will be

debating topics such as the Palestine/

Israel situation, and disability issues.

“These are things the US is quite

strong on, and as the Human Rights

representative, I’ll be looking at these

issues from that country’s perspective.”

The trip to the conference comes at a

time when New Zealand has earned a

spot on the Security Council, and Daniel

says it will make the experience even

more rewarding.

“Despite debate about its effectiveness,

I have a soft spot for the UN having

been involved in the UN Youth for so

long. I do intend to keep exploring what

it has to offer and how we keep making

it relevant.”

Daniel Maier-Gant (Year 13)

Sophie Gualter (Year 13) on the Great Wall

of China.

Blaise Turnbull (Year 13)