Young New Zealander of the year to speak at Wintec

Young New Zealander of the year Sam Johnson will speak at a national youth forum in Hamilton this month.

Hamilton Youth Council is hosting the third FYI (For Youth Involvement) Youth Forum 2012 as part of National Leadership Week.

The forum in late June celebrates leadership by young people and aims to encourage them to be more involved with their community.

Chairperson of Hamilton City Youth Council Logan Reynolds said the forum is an awesome opportunity to share ideas, celebrate young people’s diversity and develop leadership skills.

“Our hope is that every participant will walk away from the event feeling empowered to make a difference.”

Sam Johnson, who founded the Christchurch Student Volunteer Army, will be among the speakers.

Assil Russell, who founded Iraqi Children’s Aid and Repair Endeavour (ICARE), will also be speaking.

ICARE is a non-profit organisation set up to help disadvantaged Iraqi children receive free medical and dental services from donations made by New Zealanders and Australians.

There will also be workshops and local organisations will set up booths to hand out information.

The event will end with a debate between Youth Council and City Councillor Margaret Forsyth, Deputy Mayor Gordon Chesterman and Mayor Julie Hardaker.

Mr Reynolds will be presenting political poetry and BFAM, a hip-hop group made up of mostly Melville High School students will perform.

The forum will be held on June 27 from 9:30am-3.15pm at Wintec’s Gallagher Hub.

It is free and open to 15-25 year olds but you must register your place here before June 22.

An iPhone will be given away and vouchers will be handed out during the day.