They will be making a visual presentation of submissions on the 10-year long-term council community plan (LTCCP) in a project instigated by the council's community development adviser Louise Day in conjunction with Oamaru film-maker Eric Shepherd.
Already, she has 16 young people out of 20, who will be involved in the Youth Film Submission Project, which has won praise from the Ministry of Youth Affairs as being "dramatic and innovative".
The 20 young people will range in age from 12 years to 20 and will be divided into age-groups to produce 5 to 10-minute short films which will be their submissions on the council's LTCCP.
The 20 participants would have two-hour film-making sessions on top equipment provided by Mr Shepherd on Saturday mornings starting on January 31 and continuing until April 14.
They would make their own decisions about what they wanted for the town in the future.
Ms Day said the films would have a public screening, which councillors would be invited to, on April 14 before submissions on the LTCCP close on April 22.
The films would also be put in the North Otago Archives as "a sort of time capsule".
"In 10 years' time they will be able to come back and see them and compare that to what has been achieved," she said.
The film project is being funded from the Mayor's Taskforce for Jobs.
In addition, Ms Day would work with pupils at Oamaru Intermediate and Fenwick School, informing them about the LTCCP process and encouraging them to make submissions either written or in pictures.
Ms Day said the council was required as part of its LTCCP process to consider what future generations wanted in the district.
The two projects would give feedback from young people on how they wanted the district to develop and the facilities it should have.
"It will give the views of young people on how decisions made now will impact on the community they will inherit," she said.
Ms Day said the projects would also be valuable for parents and the public, who often considered the present rather than what they would like to see for their children and grandchildren.
The Waitaki Youth Council was also planning a forum for young people to discuss the LTCCP and what they wanted in the future.
