News

Youth Panel votes on funding

23 May 2025

The School Sustainability and Resilience Fund (SSRF) Youth Panel has now completed their voting, selecting their preferred projects from a pool of 25 'second chance' applicants who were unsuccessful in the public voting round. The panel's voting will determine how 30% or approximately $50k of the $165k total pool of funding will be allocated - giving Bay of Plenty youth 'real power over real money'.


What does the Youth Panel involve?

The SSRF Youth Panel consists of 14 rangatahi aged between 12 - 25 from across the Bay of Plenty. In 2025, Youth Panel members participated in two online hui where they learned about the SSRF, participatory budgeting (i.e. where the community determines how a portion of public funding is spent) and this year's SSRF projects.

The panel also discussed voter demographics and considered their own voting strategy and principles. Panel members were also given access to SSRF project applications so they could research the projects and make an informed voting decision. The final vote was then conducted online on 23 May 2025.


Screenshot of online Youth Panel Zoom meeting 2025

The 2025 School Sustainability and Resilience Fund Youth Panel