An innovative pilot programme to help youth become leaders in addressing online harm and identifying the digital challenges that matter most to them is coming to Central Otago early next year.
Netsafe’s Otago Young Digital Leaders Pilot had received a $350,000 grant from the Otago Community Trust (OCT) to support the programme.
Netsafe chief executive Brent Carey said recruitment for interested youth would begin early this year, and Central Otago would be part of the pilot from the outset.
Central Otago would run alongside Dunedin for the first year of the programme.
The programme would then expand to North and South Otago during year two of the pilot. Year three would focus on sustainability and what had been learned over the three years.
The programme came at a critical time, as young people navigate an increasingly complex digital environment, he said.
Young people would form regional leadership groups to identify the digital challenges that matter most to them, design solutions that fit their communities, and deliver real-world projects, from peer-led education to policy ideas, community events, or research initiatives.
"Participants will build confidence, leadership capability and advocacy training, skills that are hugely relevant whether they’re heading to work, study, or starting their own ventures."
Youth would be empowered to shape what success would look like in their area and would leave a legacy that would continue long after the initial funding period had ended, helping to ensure future digital wellbeing work would not be short-lived, he said.
An OCT spokesperson said the funding came from the trust’s Tamariki and Rangatahi Impact Fund after recognising the potential for lasting intergenerational impact.
