Youth Voice

Youth Voice card graphic - single line speech bubbles pink

Young people have consistently told us that they want their voice heard in the decisions that impact them and their future. They must be supported and enabled to be part of the conversation about shaping a productive, sustainable, and inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand. The Ministry of Youth Development – Te Manatū Whakahiato Taiohi has an important part to play in bringing youth voice to the table.

MYD Youth Advisory Panel
'Insights and Findings from Engagements - Strengthening youth leadership and advisory groups' Report
‘Connect & Kōrero – Innovating to amplify refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in Aotearoa New Zealand policy’ Report
Project DMs – Insight Gathering and Youth Wellbeing Micro-Campaign Report
Experiences of COVID-19 for takatāpui, queer, gender diverse, and intersex young people aged 16-24 years Report
Negotiating Multiple Identities: Intersecting Identities among Māori, Pacific, Rainbow and Disabled Young People Report
The Hive Deep Dive with Decision-Makers: Insights & Recommendations Report

MYD Youth Advisory Panel

On 01 January 2026, MYD established a Youth Advisory Panel (the Panel), comprising some of the 2025 MYD Youth Advisory Group members.

The Panel has a targeted focus on work to gain insights into how youth voice is used across the youth sector and how youth voice and participation can be embedded in decision-making across government.

The Panel’s tenure runs until 30 June 2026 and information about its members is included below:

Panel Member	Age	Pronouns	Location
Aidan Donoghue	22	He/Him	Wellington
Ashleigh (Ash) Putt-Fallows	21	She/Her/Ia	Wellington
Brooke Anderson	20	She/Her	Christchurch/Southland

'Insights and Findings from Engagements - Strengthening youth leadership and advisory groups' Report

'Strengthen youth leadership and advisory groups' is an action in the Youth Plan: Voice, Leadership, Action (Youth Plan). As part of work related to this, the MYD Youth Advisory Group (YAG) facilitated engagements with other youth leadership and advisory groups including youth councils, central government YAGs, and youth sector YAGs.

Insights and Findings from Engagements Report

‘Connect & Kōrero – Innovating to amplify refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in Aotearoa New Zealand policy’ Report

MYD commissioned this research project to better understand the barriers to including refugee and ethnic migrant youth voice in decision-making. The report aims to identify issues or areas for enhancing safety, inclusion, and effectiveness to support refugee and ethnic migrant youth participation in government decision-making.

‘Connect and Kōrero Report

Project DMs – Insight Gathering and Youth Wellbeing Micro-Campaign Report

The Project DMs – Insight Gathering and Youth Wellbeing Micro-Campaign Report was made possible through a partnership between MYD, Te Hiringa Hauora, and creative agency, Curative. Led by Te Hiringa Hauora as an action under the government’s Youth Plan, Project DMs aims to understand the experiences and needs of rangatahi Māori and Pasifika young people transitioning out of school amidst the global complexity of COVID-19.

Project DMs Report

Experiences of COVID-19 for takatāpui, queer, gender diverse, and intersex young people aged 16-24 years Report

MYD commissioned this research to better understand the experiences of rainbow rangatahi aged 16-24 years of COVID-19, and Alert Levels 3 and 4 and the pandemic in general. The Report aimed to understand the enablers, needs, challenges, and barriers for young people and the impact COVID-19 will have on their futures.

Experiences of COVID-19 Report

Negotiating Multiple Identities: Intersecting Identities among Māori, Pacific, Rainbow and Disabled Young People Report

Intersectionality provides us with a lens that assists us in understanding the overlapping of multiple identities and relations to more than one group. It helps us to see how our memberships to multiple groups shape us individually. The interconnectedness of culture, circumstance and sexuality plays a part in the way in which minorities are perceived, treated, and often disadvantaged.

Negotiating Multiple Identities Report

The Hive Deep Dive with Decision-Makers: Insights & Recommendations Report

The Hive All-Stars (13 young people aged 16-24 years representing the cohorts from the first three seasons or years of The Hive) and Curative NZ undertook a series of insights-gathering activities in late 2023. These included an online survey and a series of in-person workshops targeting public servants, and in-depth interviews with senior public service leaders.

The Hive Deep Dive with Decision-Makers Report

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