The Whakatāne District Youth Council is formulating a new Code of Practice and gearing up for a busy spring. The Youth Council consists of ten high school students from throughout the District who meet each fortnight with the aim of giving youth a greater voice in the District.

Brendan Jelley of the Youth Council says that their main goal currently is to develop a Code of Practice that will allow them to have better structure and functionality in the coming years. “Creating a strong, updated system that allows the youth of the District to get involved and contribute to the community is important,” Mr Jelley says. “This year also saw us being invited to join Whakatāne Councillors during their meetings, and this is a very important development for the youth council.”

The Youth Council is also working on their main fundraising event of the year, “Movie Night Under the Stars”, which will be held on 27 September 2014, and will be taking part in both the Eastern Bay Song Quest - Yeah Nah It's Not OK – and the Road Safety Stall at the Whakatāne Business and Leisure Show.