Nathan (Year 11) is one of 12 young people aged from 14-18 years from across New Zealand who have been selected to join the group.

The Youth Advisory Group is being set up to enable young people to have their say and have more influence on the education system and issues that affect them.

“I am looking forward to working with this inspiring group of young people, hearing about their experiences of our education system, and how they think we can improve it,” says Minister Hipkins.

“I want our young people to have a say in the way our education system works and the Youth Advisory Group provides an exciting opportunity for young New Zealanders to get involved in the decision-making.”

“I expect this diverse group of young people will bring fresh perspectives and valuable insights about education – they will also make sure that we are aware of the most important issues they are facing,” says Minister Hipkins.

“The youth advisory group will decide what they want to talk about at each meeting. I imagine topics include things like student wellbeing, mental health, and preparing for careers.”

Insights from this group will be shared with the Ministry of Education and other education sector agencies.

An online youth forum will include more than 150 young people who will discuss and test insights gathered from the advisory group, to ensure a wide range of viewpoints on selected education topics.

The group’s first meeting will be held in late February 2018.