What is diversity?
Diversity refers to the fact that all human beings are different. Sometimes when we think of diversity, we automatically associate it with race and ethnicity, but we also differ in many other areas such as gender, language, manners and culture, social roles, sexual orientation, education, skills, income, and in countless other ways.1
Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand
Aotearoa New Zealand has an increasingly diverse population. There is an estimated 1.6 million young New Zealanders under the age of 25, representing about 33% of the whole population.
Around 70% of youth in New Zealand identify with one or more European ethnicities, around 23% of children and young people identify as Māori, 12% identify as Pacific Peoples and 13% with one or more Asian ethnicities. Some young New Zealanders are recent migrants or refugees. The city of Auckland alone has residents from more than 220 recorded ethnic groups!
It isn’t just New Zealand’s broad range of ethnicities and languages that makes us diverse. In 2013 it was estimated that 11% of our young people aged 15 and under live with a disability. Some young New Zealanders identify as members of the LGBTQI+ community, also known as the rainbow community. In 2013, 4% of secondary school students reported they were attracted to the same or both sexes and a further 4% weren’t sure or weren’t attracted to either sex. About 1% of New Zealand young people identify as transgender.2
In New Zealand there is also a wide range of religious affiliations and family structures, significant disparities in socio-economic status, and sizeable proportions of the population living in both urban and rural areas.
With such a diverse range of young people comes a diverse range of group-specific needs when working with them. For example, when UNICEF talked to 24 rangatahi (Māori youth) from different backgrounds and communities about what wellbeing meant to them and their life experience in Aotearoa New Zealand, their answers were overwhelmingly linked to relationships to whānau/family and friends. This powerful message was supported by everyone who took part in the survey.3
Task: Rangatahi and whānau
Connections to whānau are incredibly important to rangatahi. Think about what this means for you when working with Māori youth.
Explore further
If you are interested in learning more about youth perspectives on supporting diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand, watch the video (14:54) linked here.4
Youth Diversity Forum 2019: Key messages and Sunday discussions
What is the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa?
The Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa (2002) is a document written by the New Zealand Government outlining how they can support young people aged between 12 and 24 years to develop the skills and attitudes they need to be a positive part of society now and in the future.5 The strategy document states that there are similar challenges for all young people but, at the same time, there is a huge amount of diversity among New Zealand youth. The strategy acknowledges there are key issues for specific groups of young people and these issues are addressed in the Strategy’s goals.
Principles of youth development
There are 6 principles of youth development in the YDSA – we will look at each one in turn, with examples.
Youth development is shaped by the ‘big picture’
The big picture in New Zealand includes social, economic, and cultural contexts; in takes into account trends, values and belief systems. It includes Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi and also international obligations like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC).
For example, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a significant guide to how we set out our relationships and responsibilities in New Zealand. This may mean that rangatahi could have opportunities to learn and develop through their own language and communities in partnership with other organisations. Rangatahi may have the opportunity to attend kaupapa Māori schools instead of traditional English language schools, or seek support through organisations that implement tikanga Māori practices rather than European approaches.
Youth development is about young people being connected
Healthy development comes from young people having many positive social connections. The more social connections where they feel welcome, understood, and valued, the better.
For example, young people who belong to the LGBTQI+ community can find emotional and practical support, useful information and a sense of belonging if they are able to join support groups like RainbowYouth.6 7
Youth development is based on a consistent strengths-based approach
A strengths-based approach means recognising there are both risk factors and protective factors that a young person has throughout their development. Risk factors are things that increase the likelihood of difficulties and poor health and wellbeing; protective factors enhance opportunities and promote good health and wellbeing. Strong protective factors can help to minimise some of the unavoidable negative experiences and risk factors young people have.
For example, Pasifika youth may be very involved with their church and have a strong sense of faith, which is a protective factor. However, many Pasifika young people live in over-crowded and cold, damp housing, which is a risk factor.
Youth development happens through quality relationships
This principle is about the importance of supporting and equipping young people and those around them to have successful relationships.
For example, a young person who has a disability that affects their senses – such as deafness or low vision – may find it challenging to communicate with people in settings like school. Supporting and equipping the young person and the students around them so they are able to communicate effectively will enable friendships to form.
Youth development is triggered when young people fully participate
This principle acknowledges that it is important to allow young people to have more control over what happens to and around them. This can be achieved through advice, participation and engagement.
For example, young people living in isolated rural areas may have few opportunities to learn a broad range of skills. Youth development programmes set up for rural youth are a good way of letting young people have more choices around what they would like to do either as hobbies or in terms of employment training.
Youth development needs good information
Youth development needs to be continually informed by effective information gathering, research and evaluation. Research and evaluation are about learning from work that is being done with young people. It’s important that we learn what does and does not work.
For example, when a young person arrives as a refugee in Aotearoa New Zealand we need to know what actions and services will help them feel comfortable and welcome. If we don’t know for sure, or just guess, the measures put in place could cause them to feel the exact opposite. If we look at current research on what has previously been done and found to be helpful, we can be more informed in our actions.
Explore further
If you want to see some of the youth development programmes targeted to rural young people, take a look at the links below:
- He Poutama Rangatahi is a youth work programme for rural youth – this RNZ article by Te Aorewa Rolleston tells you about what this particular programme does and how the government is getting behind it.8
- Check out the website of I Have a Dream, which is a charity that supports young people through mentoring, tutoring, life-coaching and more.9
Have a closer look at the linked documents below to learn more about some formal strategies and policies underpinning New Zealand legislation related to children:
What are the key issues for our diverse youth?
Although some challenges that young people face are the same across everyone, other issues are specific to certain groups. It is also important to be aware that a young person may belong to more than one group. In this section we will briefly introduce some groups identified in the government’s Youth Development Strategy and also some of the issues they might face. All these groups and issues will be looked at in more depth in the next topic.
Rangatahi Māori
Rangatahi is the te reo Māori word for young people. Rangatahi are youth aged between 12 and 24 of Māori heritage.
Key issues for working with rangatahi might include different ways of thinking about relationships – taking into consideration not just the young person but also their whānanu (family), hapū (subtribe) and iwi (tribe). Rangatahi may need to feel connected to their culture and their language and you can help them by interacting with them in culturally appropriate ways. This includes keeping in mind that rangatahi could be living between two cultures that are sometimes in conflict.
Rangatahi may need access to community youth development programmes and you can encourage engagement with these.
Rangatahi can benefit from those around them having awareness, understanding and acceptance of their needs, especially by those in the non-Māori community.
Pasifika youth
Pasifika youth are young people living in New Zealand whose families and ancestors are originally from places such as Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, Fiji and Tokelau. Although, many Pasifika youth living in New Zealand today are of mixed heritage, as many people from different Pacific Island nations and other cultures have had children together. Pasifika youth may not have ever lived in the Pacific Island nations their families are originally from; their families may have been living in New Zealand for generations.
Key issues when working with Pasifika youth might start with recognising that not all Pasifika people are from the same island. There are differences between each island’s culture as well as between Pasifika and New Zealand culture. There may be times when these cultures are in conflict. We need to recognise that the ways and the extent that these conflicts affect the young person can depend on how long the young person has been in New Zealand, if they were born here, or if their families have been here for a long time. You can help by interacting with young Pasifika in a culturally appropriate way.
Just as with rangatahi Māori, when working with Pasifika youth we may need to think about relationships differently – recognising the young person as part of a larger collective inclusive of the family (immediate and wider), as well as others in the community, e.g. church members.
Young Pasifika need access to opportunities and programmes to support development of talents and skills. You may be able to direct them to programmes that might be appropriate or support them in accessing these opportunities.
Young Pasifika will benefit from non-Pasifika communities being aware of and accepting of their culture and needs.
LGBTQI+ youth
In New Zealand, approximately one in every 10 people describe themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex (LGBTQI+). Alongside the issues faced by heterosexual young people, LGBTQI+ youth face additional challenges due to social and health stigmas, and those that come when some members of society do not accept their sexuality. It’s crucial that young people develop a positive sexual identity as it can affect their self-esteem and wellbeing.
Key issues for LGBTQI+ youth could include being accepted for who they are and having their identity recognised. When we interact with young people who identify as LGBTQI+ and we make an effort to do things such as using their chosen pronouns or accepting who they are without judgement it can help them to feel comfortable with and form their own identities.
We can further help young LGBTQI+ young people by providing a safe environment and helping them to feel protected and supported when or if they experience discrimination or harassment. This might include supporting young people to access safe housing options to protect them from homelessness as we know a large number of young LGBTQI+ people may end up being asked to leave their family homes after ‘coming out’ as LGBTQI+ to parents or caregivers.11
Having access to support groups and development programmes can mean peer support and opportunities to increase self-esteem. You can help by encouraging engagement in these groups or supporting access.
Rural youth
According to the 2006 census, rural youth made up around 15% of people younger than 17 and 9% of those 18 to 24 years of age.12 There are significantly fewer young people in rural areas than in urban areas. This could be explained by the many young people moving to cities for study, work, and the lifestyle.
Key issues for rural youth could start with access issues. This might mean that opportunities for development programmes or social connections are affected by things like lack of transport or these opportunities simply being too far away. This could also be the case for employment and training. You can help by exploring options for supporting these young people to get where they need to go or by seeing if accessing these things through high-speed internet is an option in the young person’s area. You may also be able to enhance opportunities for training and employment in areas that are more within reach of the young people who would benefit from them.
It’s also important to remember that a significant proportion of these young people will move out of rural areas into more urban areas and could need support to plan for this.
Young parents
In 2017, 15 out of every 1000 teenage women in New Zealand gave birth. Over half of these women were Māori and living in areas of high deprivation. More is known about challenges faced by young mothers than young fathers.13
Key issues for young parents can often start with protection and support to manage any social stigma and discrimination. Support from the local community, peers and/or whānau can be a good place to start. Access to support groups is something a youth worker could facilitate, helping the young person to find and attend one that is right for them.
Housing and financial support are also vital for these young people as we know that they’re not always able to stay with parents or caregivers. Financial support is sometimes difficult to find and the process of accessing it can be lengthy and complicated. You may be able to assist by offering practical support to help fill out application forms, access social housing or access transport options.
Young parents often still want to continue their education and find employment. They may need assistance in finding institutions or programmes that facilitate and support young parents to be able to do this. Transport and childcare may also be something they need help to access.
Youth with a disability
In New Zealand, around one in seven young people aged between 15 to 24 live with a disability that impacts their daily life. This disability community is itself diverse – the most common disabilities being physical disabilities and those impacting mobility, followed by sensory disabilities affecting sight or hearing.14 Other disabilities experienced by young people include some neurological conditions, developmental disabilities, learning and intellectual disabilities.15
One key issue for young people with a disability is that they may need help to participate in a range of areas. This could include helping the young person to form connections with their peers both with and without disabilities.
This could be facilitated through increased participation in their family unit, schools, communities and local or wider politics, e.g. local councils. There are many youth development programmes available to young people with disabilities.
Many young people with disabilities want opportunities to engage in education and meaningful employment. There are often barriers to their participation, and you can help by reducing these barriers – for instance, you may be able to help that young person to use public transport or find movies and video content with closed captioning.
Young people with disabilities will benefit from any initiative that achieves better awareness and general understanding among young people and adults of the various issues faced by people with disabilities.
Youth migrants and refugees
Some young people living in New Zealand are recent migrants or refugees. While these groups have some similar challenges, a key difference is that migrant youth most frequently come with families seeking new opportunities, but refugees are escaping traumatic or dangerous situations and have often had to leave their home country without enough preparation or resources to set up a self-sufficient life in a new country.
Key issues for migrant youth include acknowledging that there will be unique challenges depending on each person’s circumstances – these may be issues like language barriers or conflicting cultures.
These young people will be adapting to new social norms, cultural expectations and possibly religious protocols. You can help by providing opportunities to engage with them and their cultural practices. You might need to support the parents of these young people in understanding the challenges of adapting to or integrating into a new culture.
It’s important to keep in mind that these young people may have had traumatic experiences; they may need understanding and time to adjust.
Task: Addressing their key issues in your own practice
Choose one of the groups of youth we have just introduced and for each of the key issues described, think about how this would relate to your work with young people and how you could better implement the Youth Development Strategy in your practice.
Explore Further
If you would like to learn a bit more about the groups we’ve just introduced, here are some additional resources.
- Rangatahi Māori: Read this Unicef article about rangatahi and what is important to them.16
- Pasifika youth: Read the Le Va Youth Participation Guide for Pasifika Youth.17
- LGBTQI+: Watch a TEDx Talk from a member of the LGBTQI+ community: ‘Your words have the power to end suffering of LGBTQ youth’.18
- Rural youth: Learn tips from the mental health foundation on keeping mentally well when living rurally.19
- Young parents: Watch or read about these personal stories of teen parenthood.20
- Youth with disabilities: Learn more about participation and the need for young people with disabilities to be able to make their own decisions concerning their lives in this article.21
- Migrant youth: Read a personal story from a woman who raised her child in New Zealand after migrating here in 2002 from Zimbabwe.22
Journal Entry 2
In this topic you have looked at an overview of the diverse needs of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand and you are ready to complete Journal Entry 2.
In your journal, write about how youth diversity impacts your role as a youth worker.
These questions are here to prompt your thinking:
- How would you define the term ‘diversity’? How do your own experiences influence your perspective on diversity?
- What does ‘youth diversity’ mean in the context of the young people you work with? How important is it for you to have an awareness of this diversity?
- How similar or different are the needs of the different young people you work with? How do their needs vary from those of their peers around the country? What accounts for these similarities and differences?
- How well do you think you understand the diverse needs of the young people you work with? What could you do to learn more?
Personal reflection: How do my own personal and/or professional experiences with diversity impact my role as a youth worker in my current position?
What do I do with my journal entry?
As mentioned previously, at the end of this programme, you will collate and reflect on your journal entries and submit evidence that you have been journaling throughout the programme about your learning and how it applies to your youth work practice.
You do not have to submit your actual journal writing (unless you want to). However, you are required to submit evidence of journaling along with Assessment 2.3. To meet this requirement, you must submit at least a half-page reflection on what you wrote, or an extract from your entry, for Journal Entry 2.
Important: You will not be assessed on the content of what you write, as it is personal to you and your own journey. But you must submit evidence of journaling with Assessment 2.3.
Assessment 2.3
Now that you have completed this topic and learned a little bit about the Youth Development Strategy you should be able to:
- Identify groups of diverse youth as mentioned by the Youth Development Strategy.
- Know some of the key issues affecting those youth.
- Be able to think about how this might impact your work with the youth in these diverse groups.
Your knowledge of the Youth Development Strategy will help you to complete Task 1 in Assessment 2.3
