Five young LGBTI change-makers have been honoured with Youth Awards. Minister Nikki Kaye and Qmunity Youth Gisborne- Matthew Te Whata Mc Clutchie, Darcy Spraggs, Charly Walsh, Daniel Henry, Hunaara Papuni, Teresa Wells The five recipients in the LGBTI Change Maker category come from across the country and together they bring years of experience and passion working within the LGBTI community. The winners of the award are Rachel Brebner, who is involved with RainbowYOUTH and is the youngest ever chairperson of the organisation. Alex Bramwell picked up an award for her volunteering work with Waikato Queer Youth (WaQuY) for the past six years. Tessa Naden, who has put her heart and soul into Queerspace at Auckland University was another winner as was Bella Simpson, a tireless advocate for trans youth through her work with InsideOUT. Qmunity Youth Group Gisbourne were also proud recipients of the award. Made up of young high school students who aim to bring awareness to the wider community of the challenges of wanting to be accepted and understood by whānau. Recipients of the award were announced by Hon Nikki Kaye at a special ceremony in Parliament. Kaye says “This year, after feedback from youth organisations, I strengthened the awards by introducing three sub-categories to the change maker award: cultural, community safety and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) change maker. This means we can specifically recognise achievements in these areas. “The new categories reflect the large number of nominations received last year and interest in recognising people throughout society."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 26th May 2016 - 10:47am