New Zealand Youth Parliament

The New Zealand Youth Parliament is a national event in New Zealand, held once in each term of parliament (usually every three or four years). The event is used to promote the civic and community engagement of New Zealand youth. The event has been held since 1994, and takes place at the New Zealand Parliament Buildings. The latest Youth Parliament, the 7th Youth Parliament, took place on the 16th and 17 July 2013.

Youth Parliament is an initiative led by the Minister of Youth Affairs, currently the Hon Nikki Kaye. The Minister works with a committee of her Parliamentary colleagues (representing every party in Parliament) to administer Youth Parliament.

The Minister receives support from the Ministry of Youth Development, who work closely with other agencies within the parliamentary complex including The Office of the Speaker, Parliamentary Services and the Office of the Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives.

Former Labour MP Darren Hughes, who once held the Statistics portfolio and was the associate minister for Social Development and Employment, was a Youth MP at the first ever Youth Parliament in 1994. Hughes said in his maiden speech as MP that he was proud to be the first ever Youth MP to become the "real thing".

The New Zealand Youth Parliament was first held in 1994, being held to mark the 20th anniversary of the voting age being lowered to 18. The event was shorter than it is now, with young people coming to Parliament for an educational day. Due to the success of the event, Cabinet invited the Minister of Youth Affairs to continue holding the event every three or four years. Since then, the event has been held in 2013, 2010, 2007, 2004, 2000, and 1997.

The Youth Parliament takes place over two days, and is designed to be as similar to the actual running of Parliament as possible. The event is typically opened by the Governor General of New Zealand. The website of the Ministry of Youth Development says that Youth Parliament "is an opportunity for young New Zealanders to influence government decision-making as active citizens and have their views heard by key decision-makers and the public."

...
Wikipedia