A group of rangatahi from Hutt City Council’s Naenae Clubhouse met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week to give her their view on the world.
They were invited to spend time with the PM at Premier House in Wellington as part of a project being led by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
The project is gathering the views of young people on a range of topics to influence government and community decisions on issues that affect them.
The Clubhouse Network is an international community of 100 Clubhouses in 18 countries which provide a creative and safe space for young people to work with mentors and explore their own ideas, develop new skills, and build confidence through the use of technology.
As part of HCC’s Empowering Tamariki project, Hutt City Libraries run Clubhouses in Naenae and Taita. They both provide free after-school programmes for rangatahi aged 10-18 years.
The Naenae Clubhouse was established in 2010 through seed funding from the Department of Internal Affairs. The Taita Clubhouse was established in 2015. Each site has both paid staff and volunteers, and club members who go on to tertiary study are encouraged to return and share their learning. Around 400 young people are currently involved in Lower Hutt’s two clubhouses.
