Young people meet over road tragedy

Published: 6:41PM Friday June 15, 2007

Source: One News

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Five weeks after two of their fellow students died outside a Christchurch party , teens from across the city are trying to learn something from the tragedy.

They have held a forum chaired by the brother of one of the victims.

Around 180 teenagers, representing most of Christchurch secondary schools have been trying to find their voice.

"You know the old saying - children should be seen and not heard, it's not like that anymore," says Christina Gloag, a concerned youth.

The forum was called in the wake of May's Edgeware road incident, where two girls died when a car ploughed through a crowd at a party attended by nearly a 1000 people.

Jane Young was one of those killed.

At her school, her brother welcomed young people from all over the city.

"I'd like it if her death wasn't just a random act of insanity, i'd like it if it did mean that there was some change ya know," said Chris Young, the forum's chairperson.

Groups of teens, often not known to each other, nutted out over how they could make things better, addressing issues like saftey, image and young people's relationships with authorities.

"I think it's like a good step in the right direction really - if they carried on having meetings like this regularly then people would start to take notice," said Hamish Calder a concerned youth.

"Just to be heard by older people I think, and to make it safer for us and ya know and people after us as well, the youth to come," said another concerned youth Lucy Broadhurst.

All of the ideas will be put together by "special" policy writers for local authorities and government agencies to look at.

"It's very difficult for adults to put themselves in the position of young people and be effective in making decisions on behalf of young people," said Vince Dobbs, said the principal of Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti .

"We are intellingent, we are articulate, we are creative, we are doing good things," says Chris Young.

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