UN Youth New Zealand (formerly the United Nations Youth Association of New Zealand or UNYANZ) is a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

and a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

. Its members are all aged 25 or under or are full-time tertiary students. It is the largest youth-for-youth organisation in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Annually, over 3,000 young New Zealanders engage with a UN Youth event. UN Youth's stated mission is 'to inspire young people to be engaged global citizens'. It attempts to achieve this mission by hosting international tours, national conferences and regional events for secondary and tertiary students. UN Youth is the youth arm of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Association of New Zealand (UNANZ), which is a member of the

World Federation of United Nations Associations The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) (French: ''Fédération Mondiale des Associations pour les Nations Unies'', FMANU) was founded in 1946 as a Federation of national associations. Its objectives are to promote the values o ...

(WFUNA).

Events

International Tours

UN Youth's National Executive appoints tertiary student volunteers as Directors who organise and run five international tours. Delegations often visit United Nations Departments, Embassies, Universities, Non-Governmental Organisations, businesses and other organisations. UN Youth runs three tours for secondary students. # Global Development Tour: This tour travels around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The focus is on learning about the

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

. # Pacific Leadership Tour: This tour travels to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. # Evatt Competition: This tour travels to

and the delegation competes in UN Youth Australia's Evatt Competition. UN Youth runs two tours for tertiary students. # North American Leadership Tour: This tour travels around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. # Globalisation Tour: This tour travels to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and around

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

National Conferences

UN Youth's National Executive appoints tertiary student volunteers as National Committee Members who organise and run three national events. Events often involve educational committee sessions, engaging workshops and social events. UN Youth's three national events are for secondary students. Each national event attracts between 150 - 300 students. # Aotearoa Youth Declaration: This four-day event is held in April in Auckland. Participants are placed in policy focus groups. Participants will learn about existing policies and then make recommendations for decision-makers such as the New Zealand Government, local council bodies and ministries. All the recommendations are compiled into a document called a 'Declaration'. # New Zealand Model United Nations: This four-day event is held in July in Wellington at the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. Participants are delegates representing an allocated member state of the United Nations. Delegates will debate pressing global issues such as nuclear disarmament, climate change and urbanisation. # New Zealand Model Parliament: This three-day event is held in September in Canterbury at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. Participants are

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

representing a party of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

. Participants will debate a mock bill on a pressing domestic issue.

Regional Events

UN Youth's Regional Councils appoint tertiary student volunteers as Regional Committee Members who organise and run various regional events. Additionally, Regional Councils work with High School Ambassadors to promote UN Youth.

Structure

UN Youth has a Board of Directors and a National Executive who lead the organisation. Additionally, they have an Extended Leadership Group consisting of National Executive members, National Conference Coordinators and Regional Council Presidents.

Board of directors

The

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

is the highest authority and policy-making body within the organisation. Their primary obligation is to ensure the organisation has a sustainable long-term strategy in achieving its mission. This includes monitoring financial performance, performing risk assessments and reviewing organisational policies. The Board of Directors comprises some Ordinary Directors, some Independent Directors, the National President and a Volunteers' Representative. The Board of Directors' administrative responsibilities are carried out by a Board Secretary. The Board of Directors meets virtually at least once every six weeks. Additionally, they have an Appointments Committee; Financial, Risk and Audit Committee; and Policy, Impact and Culture Committee, which meet regularly.

National Executive

The National Executive manages day-to-day functions and oversees all operations of the organisation. Their primary obligation is ensuring the organisation is functioning efficiently, and they are accountable to the Board of Directors. This includes overseeing three National Committees and four Regional Councils. The National Executive comprises the National President, National Communications Officer, National Education Officer, National Finance Officer, National Information Officer, National Māori and Pasifika Officer, National Operations Officer, National People Officer and National Relations Officer. The National Executive meets virtually around three times a month. Additionally, they have an Appointments Committee; Budget Committee; Policy Committee, Te Kawekawe (Māori and Pasifika Advisory Committee); and Welfare Committee, which meet regularly.

Regional Councils

UN Youth has four Regional Councils that oversee the regions of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

(

Tāmaki Makaurau Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first formed for the . The electorate covers the Auckland area and was first held by Labour ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

(Waitaha),

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

(Otakou) and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

(Poneke),{{Cite web, date=2023, title=UN Youth: Wellington Region, website=

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, url=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090563752654. Their primary obligation is running regional events in their wider region, and they are accountable to the Board of Directors. Each Regional Council is led by a Regional President. The current Regional President for UN Youth Auckland is Amelia Cai. The current Regional President for UN Youth Wellington is Charlie Mudgway and the current Regional Vice President for UN Youth Wellington is Alisya Syarief.

References

External links

Official website
Youth organisations based in New Zealand World Federation of United Nations Associations