Recently I, along with nine other youth from all over New Zealand, was lucky enough to have been selected as a Young Ambassador for the Shared Histories programme.

The Shared Histories programme was created in October 2013 to raise awareness amongst New Zealand and French youth, about the contribution of the New Zealand Division who fought on the Western Front during World War One. To apply I had to write a short essay in French of why I wanted to go on this trip, my interest in French and any prior knowledge I had of World War One. With the help of my Dad, educating me about my great grandfather Coverly Gow Harvey (George to his friends) who served in the Otago regiment in Artillery in le Quesnoy and Madame Holmes,  helping me with my French, I was selected. The trip began on  10 September and I had to raise $2000 beforehand. The rest would be covered by the sponsors of the Shared Histories programme.

When we arrived in Paris, France, after 25 hours of getting to know the nine new siblings, we boarded the bus to Arras where we would be living for the next two weeks.  So began our adventure travelling around all the different battlefields and memorials of the World War One and the Battle of the Somme. We went to Le Quesnoy, Beaumont-hamel, Thiepval, Longueval, The Wellington Quarry, Vimy, Kemmel, Ypres, Messines, Zonnebeke, Morlan Court, Meaux and finally Paris. We participated in an array of memorial services, visited museums, met with Mayors and the French Secretary of State for Military Affairs. We also attended the 100th anniversary memorial service for the Battle of the Somme where we met other passionate Kiwis, members of the New Zealand forces and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. 

The whole experience was both empowering, seeing the amazing strength of our ancestors, and humbling, seeing all the loss and the numerous New Zealand graves, both marked and unmarked. It showed me how important our history is to us and that we need to be more active in remembering, commemorating and being grateful for the future that the past has given us.

Now it is my job as a Young Ambassador to educate other New Zealanders, both young and old, about this history. One of the tools I am using to do that is my Blog at http://www.sharedhistories.com/who#2016ya . I will also be doing a speech at this year's RSA choir performance. I am so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to working further to educate others and reconnect us with past and the French community.