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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)