Resources and Reports

'Insights and Findings from Engagements - Strengthening youth leadership and advisory groups' Report

'Strengthen youth leadership and advisory groups' is an action in the Youth Plan: Voice, Leadership, Action (Youth Plan). As part of work related to this, the MYD Youth Advisory Group (YAG) facilitated engagements with other youth leadership and advisory groups including youth councils, central government YAGs, and youth sector YAGs. The resulting report titled 'Insights and Findings from Engagements – Strengthening youth leadership and advisory groups' is now available.

The purpose of these engagements was to strengthen connections, share information, and collect insights to inform future work. In total, the MYD YAG engaged with 47 young people from 14 different youth leadership and advisory groups. The resulting Report has been prepared, which includes three sets of recommendations:

• recommendations for the Minister for Youth,
• recommendations for Mana Mokopuna and MYD as the lead and supporting agencies on the Youth Plan action, and
• recommendations for the MYD YAG.

The Hive Deep Dive with Decision-Makers: Insights and Recommendations Report

The Hive All-Stars, along with Curative NZ, undertook a series of insights-gathering activities with public servants around youth voice and youth engagement in late 2023 and the findings are now available in The Hive Deep Dive with Decision-Makers: Insights & Recommendations Report (the Report). The information contained within the Report has been distilled into a three-page document (A3 Summary – The Hive Deep Dive), featuring an overview of the insights-gathering exercises, and a summary of opportunities and recommendations. Additionally, Curative NZ has created a one-page overview (A3 Summary – The Hive) of The Hive and its mahi. For more information, visit the Youth Voice webpage.

Ākonga Fund Evaluation Report

The Ākonga Fund Evaluation Report was developed to support the evaluation of the Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund. The report includes relevant evidence (including best practice) to support how Ākonga Fund youth development programmes have enabled ākonga to:

• develop stronger connections with whānau, iwi, community, and other support services including schools, health, and youth services
• use these stronger connections to increase their engagement in learning and/or improve future aspirations (e.g., ākonga have transitioned to further training or employment).

Download the report here.

Connect and Kōrero - Innovating to amplify refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in Aotearoa New Zealand policy report

MYD commissioned this research project to better understand the barriers to including refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in decision-making. The report aims to identify issues or areas for enhancing safety, inclusion, and effectiveness to support refugee and ethnic migrant youth participation in government decision-making. It looked at what young people need to improve their futures to help guide government, policymakers, and people who work with young people and the wider sector.

This report is an addition to the information, resources, and knowledge available to provide a pathway for policymakers and community organisations who work with and for migrant and ethnic minority young people.

Download the ‘Connect & Kōrero – Innovating to amplify refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in Aotearoa New Zealand policy’ report here.

Project DMs - Insight Gathering and Youth Wellbeing Micro-Campaign Report

The Project DMs – Insight Gathering and Youth Wellbeing Micro-Campaign Report was made possible through a partnership between the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) – Te Manatū Whakahiato Taiohi, Te Hiringa Hauora, and creative agency, Curative. Led by Te Hiringa Hauora as an action under the government’s Youth Plan, Project DMs aims to understand the experiences and needs of rangatahi Māori and Pasifika young people transitioning out of school amidst the global complexity of COVID-19. These young people are at a point of transition in their lives, a stage in their life where freedom, personal agency, responsibility, and resilience increasingly evolve.

Between September 2020 and February 2021, insights were gathered through design research, listening, making, and testing to arrive at a clear sense of how the wellbeing of young people can best be supported. Project DMs has revealed there are significant opportunities to better support the wellbeing of rangatahi Māori and Pasifika young people in transition.

Experiences of COVID-19 for takatāpui, queer, gender diverse, and intersex young people aged 16-24 Report

MYD commissioned this research to better understand the experiences of rainbow rangatahi aged 16-24 years of COVID-19, and Alert Levels 3 and 4 and the pandemic in general. The Report aimed to understand the enablers, needs, challenges, and barriers for young people and the impact COVID-19 will have on their futures. It looked at what young people need to improve their futures to help guide government, policymakers, and people who work with young people and the wider sector.

Data was collected in October 2020 using an online survey, a roundtable of Rainbow organisations, interviews, and a focus group. Participation was encouraged and advertised on Facebook and Instagram and was also promoted on MYD’s social media channels and by various rainbow organisations.

This report is a first step towards setting out those needs and aims to provide a pathway for policymakers and community organisations who work with and for rainbow young people.

Negotiating Multiple Identities: Intersecting Identities among Māori, Pacific, Rainbow and Disabled Young People Report

Intersectionality provides us with a lens that assists us in understanding the overlapping of multiple identities and relations to more than one group. It helps us to see how our memberships to multiple groups shape us individually. The interconnectedness of culture, circumstance and sexuality plays a part in the way in which minorities are perceived, treated, and often disadvantaged.

The Negotiating Multiple Identities: Intersecting Identities among Māori, Pacific, Rainbow and Disabled Young People Report (the Report), funded by the MYD, sheds light on the importance of understanding the way in which intersectionality impacts on the rangatahi across various intersectionalities. This understanding can be used to better support future generations.

This Report is part of the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey (Youth19), which is the latest in the Youth2000 series of health and wellbeing surveys. Download the report and briefs here.

Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Youth - General Election 2023

Youth Enterprise - Te Kete Aronui

MYD embarked on a journey to reset the Expanding Youth Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education work programme in 2019/2020. The first step in this journey was to get a shared understanding about what ‘good’ looks like for youth enterprise (YE) programmes and the YE sector.

In August 2021, various products were developed in partnership with The Prince’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, which included Te Kete Aronui and an Eco-system Map. Entrepreneurship programmes potentially offer a significant contribution to building a more hopeful, prosperous, equitable, and sustainable future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Te Kete Aronui suite of resources and more information is available at www.teketearonui.co.nz. 

Engaging Youth Voice - Resources, Tools, and Reports

The following link below will direct you to a useful list of Youth Engagement resources, tools, and reports.

Youth Engagement Resources

The following link will direct you to some useful Youth Engagement resources.

Love Better - helping young people navigate the tricky stuff in love

Love Better is primary prevention initiative aimed at young people aged 16-24 years. It aims to foster positive, safe, and equal relationships and to support young people to know how to love better. The multi-year, multi-phased campaign is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and was founded on large body of evidence and the voices of over 1,200 young people.

Phase 1 of the campaign ’Own the Feels’, was focused on breakups, a critical moment where physical, emotional, and sexual violence are all too prevalent. Stalking, revenge, self-harm, excessive jealousy, loneliness, the use, or misuse of drugs and alcohol to deal with the pain all too common. Own the Feels asked the audience to lean in and own their pain to prevent the hurt from turning to harm.

Publications

This section contains an alphabetical listing of publications and resources produced or funded by MYD.

Youth Matters - Archived copies of MYD's Monthly E-Newsletter

Access previous online editions of MYD's Youth Matters monthly e-newsletter, from November 2016 to March 2019.

Read 2016 editions of Youth Matters here.

Read 2017 editions of Youth Matters here.

Read 2018 editions of Youth Matters here.

Read 2019 editions of Youth Matters here.

Youth Engagement Zoom Hui Report

On 04 March 2021, then Minister for Youth Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan hosted a Youth Engagement Zoom Hui (Zhui) with over 130 young people, youth workers, and youth sector organisation representatives from the Auckland region. The Zhui was organised by MYD.

The Zhui was in response to the COVID-19 community outbreak in Auckland. It gave participants an opportunity to ask questions of a panel and talk about the challenges they were experiencing as a result of Alert Level changes, and discuss three different topics.

After the Q & A session with the panel and the topic discussion, Zhui participants were encouraged to send through additional questions, so they could be answered after the event. We have arranged the questions under key themes and have provided answers from relevant government agencies in the attached document entitled ‘Youth Engagement Zoom Hui Report (the Report)’. The answers contained within this Report were provided in April 2021 by relevant agencies and represent a moment in time.

Youth Voices - Consultation Reports

MYD consulted with young people on a range of issues in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Consultations were initiated by MYD and/or in conjunction with another government agency to inform them on initiatives and policies affecting young people.

Recovery and Wellbeing Advice

Traumatic events have a profound impact on many people. If you or someone you know needs support, there are a number of services and resources available. It is important that we take care of ourselves and each other. Details of how to access these services are here.