Five secondary school pupils from the southern region aim to tackle some of New Zealand's predominant youth drink-driving issues during the 2013 Students Against Driving Drunk (Sadd) national leadership programme next week.
Megan Summers (Columba College), Julia Cruz (Fiordland College), Warren Van Staden (King's High School), Monique Lamb (Waitaki Girls' High School) and Chantelle Blakeley (Wakatipu High School) will be among 33 secondary school pupils from around New Zealand who will spend two days at gatherings in Christchurch, Palmerston North or Auckland.
They will work together to support the development of initiatives to tackle the drink-driving issue among New Zealand's youth; provide a youth voice on the issues; and receive training and development opportunities to support their ongoing work as leaders of Sadd organisations in their region.
SADD chief executive Anna Bradwood said the pupils were selected because they demonstrated a sound knowledge of and devotion to its programme and vision, as well as showing promise in areas such as communication and entrepreneurship, and a desire to provide leadership and support to fellow pupils in their community.
''Young people hold the key to solving the drink-driving issue amongst youth, and we want to increase their opportunities to have a say and make a real difference,'' she said.
