Top of the South Forum

KYC attended a Top of the South Forum on 12th July with Marlborough and Nelson Youth Councils. 

There is real value for us to meet with other YCs - we make connections with like-minded people, we learn how other organisations function and we get new ideas for initiatives and events we can be involved in.
KYC is quite different from other YCs - we have a younger member base (we accept any students from our High School and up to 24 year olds; this means we have year 7/8 students which other YCs don't). We accept new members throughout the year and we are really inclusive - if you want to join just come on in - we don't use an application process to pick who is going to be part of our group. We are also an independent group from our District Council - we are an Incorporated Society with our own deed etc. We aren't a council committee. So there are lots of points of difference in the make up of our group. 
Another big point of difference is that we meet weekly - we have so much going on and want to keep on top of it (and it's fun!) that we meet every Tuesday during term time. We also run our own events as well as inputting to District Council, making submission on topical issues and attending training where possible. We do a bit of everything - in big centres there are more groups doing more for and with youth - in our wee town we are involved across a broad spectrum.
At the forum we had an awesome presentation around Wellbeing and Mindfulness - something that we are all interested in and keen to learn more about.