ABOUT THE EVENT
The High School Ambassador (HSA) programme is a leadership programme for secondary school students within the Canterbury region involved with UN Youth. Your role as an HSA will help further UN Youth’s mission to inspire rangatahi to become global citizens and to develop your skills to make a difference!
As an HSA, you will represent both your school and UN Youth, and thus have responsibilities that reflect this role. However, HSAs are not UN Youth volunteers who are subject to the rights and responsibilities set out in the Constitution, Protocols or Welfare protocols.
What is involved in being an HSA
The HSA programme can be divided into three main objectives:
Leadership development, training opportunities and community
HSAs will be able to participate in regular HSA meetings and events in the region. This will be an opportunity to network with other HSAs, and take part in trainings/workshops that are put on by the Regional Council and take initiative in the UN Youth space.
There will be additional support and opportunities to prepare for Canterbury events and be able to grow your public speaking, debate, and research skills.
For any HSAs that are located outside the main centre, other methods such as online catch ups should take place, to provide as much as possible the same experience of being an HSA.
Additional opportunities within UN Youth and the Canterbury region
The HSA programme will provide participants additional educational content to engage with at HSA meetings and the possibility of participating in unique and limited opportunities linked to our events with first preference.
HSAs will be given the opportunity to receive more challenging roles and allocations within regional events and may receive preference in committee selections when applying for events.
There will be opportunities to shape events and educational content through feedback, consultation, and suggestions.
Promotion, facilitation of engagement, building relationships, coordination
Develop a relationship with a relevant teacher or staff member;
Assist in promoting UN Youth events through school newsletters, speeches at assemblies, in-school clubs, posters etc;
Facilitate attendance of peers at UN Youth events and coordinate groups of students to participate in regional UN Youth events.
Commitment
Please note that once you submit your application, you are prepared to commit to the objectives above if appointed as an HSA. While previous experience and skills are beneficial, our ambassadors gain leadership skills and benefit most when they are committed. Ambassadors are leaders within UN Youth and their schools and should be diligent and proactive.
The VPHS and the rest of the Regional Council will always be here to support you, however, it is important to consider your commitment and capacity for this role before you apply.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the team at [email protected]
ABOUT UN YOUTH
UN Youth is a non-profit organisation that provides civics education outside the traditional classroom context. Through fun workshops and conferences, we engage youth in the most pressing affairs of their country and the international community. Our goal is to inspire young New Zealanders to be active, global citizens. Global citizenship exists in an incredibly diverse range of forms, and UN Youth provides opportunities for delegates to develop their own form of active citizenship. Throughout Aotearoa, our work equips young people to become informed, engaged, and critical New Zealanders who understand their global context and the connections between the local and the global. Annually, over 3000 young New Zealanders from Northland to Southland attend a UN Youth event, run by a body of over 150 volunteers across the country who dedicate many hours of their time to engaging young people and growing the organisation.