Auckland Museum forms Youth Advisory Group

Auckland Museum has announced the formation of a Youth Advisory Group (YAG) which will see a select group of Auckland’s youth acting as a source of knowledge in assisting the Museum to create stronger links into Auckland’s youth networks and communities.

The instigation of this inaugural group signals another step in Auckland Museum’s Future Museum journey, the long-term strategy which lays the foundation for changes over the next 20 years.

The aim of the YAG is to extend the Museum’s engagement with an ethnically diverse youth audience (15 to 29 year old independent adults in Auckland), by giving them the opportunity to assist the Museum in delivering content relevant to them. This follows on from the success of Urbanlife, the Museum’s creative programme for young Aucklanders which provides opportunities for participants to increase their knowledge of museum resources, be mentored and gain practical training and work experience.

Bethany Edmunds, the Museum’s Youth Outreach Programmer, explains “we’re really excited to be launching this group.

“The aim is to create opportunities for them to engage across the whole Museum, including policy development, new exhibitions, programmes specifically for a youth audience, collections and digital.

“The YAG will provide a strong youth voice for the Museum to reflect back to national and international visitors and can help us achieve Auckland’s aspirations for the Museum.”

The benefits for the individuals participating in the group will range from valuable organisational, management, event planning, marketing and communication skills, as well as potentially opening their eyes to viable career pathways in the sector.

The seven members of the group have been selected as a result of their demonstrated youth leadership, academic achievement, and participation in anything from the creative industries to science, human history, media and communications. The members will sit on the YAG for an initial period of one year, with an option to renew for another year.