This blog post covers the fifth and sixth weeks of my LiA in New Zealand, working with YANZ to spotlight young creatives and help them get ahead in their careers!

Last week, we decided on a final project that I would be focusing on in my remaining time at YANZ (such a pity to be leaving!). This will be a zine spotlighting young creatives who have been involved with the organisation at different stages of their journeys. The zine will bring together interviews, reflections, photographs, design elements, and a more accessible summary of YANZ’s impact, with the aim of creating something that can later be printed and used for promotion, gifting, or community engagement.

What I find especially exciting about this project is that it combines many of the things I have been working on throughout my placement: storytelling, communications, impact documentation, interviews, and youth-centred creative work. Rather than producing a formal report (which was another option that we considered for my final project), the zine will present YANZ’s impact through the voices and stories of the people who make the organisation what it is. It will explore the different pathways YANZ's alumni have taken, how the organisation has supported them, and how creative careers often develop in non-linear, unexpected ways. This will hopefully inspire other young creatives to keep going and remind them that creative paths often aren't linear. 

Hence, the majority of weeks 5 & 6 were spent conducting interviews with four young creatives over Zoom and then transcribing them. I then worked on the zine, focusing particularly on creative copy and design. This involved shaping interview material into short and engaging profiles. The design side of the project pushed me to consider how text, images, colour, layout, and pull quotes work together to create a clear and engaging reading experience.

In the meantime, in week 5, we attended Community Adventure Day at an Auckland high school, an event I had helped prepare for the previous week by creating marketing materials. The day brought together several New Zealand-based organisations which serve the good of the people, each with their own stall, to introduce students to different opportunities, services, and pathways available to them. The event was highly interactive: students moved around the room in groups, asking organisations quick-fire questions from a worksheet they had been given. We were also given three stars to award to the most interested and engaged groups, which added a fun sense of motivation and recognition for the students. The groups that collected the most stars were awarded prizes at the end of the day.

For YANZ, this was a valuable opportunity to speak directly with young people about the organisation’s work and the different ways they can get involved. I was initially slightly scared of engaging with the children and let my colleague answer most of the questions, but as the event went on, I got more relaxed and happy to contribute. We brought the business cards and posters we had created the previous week. It was rewarding to see these materials being used in a real outreach setting after working on them in the office.

The event felt like a success, and the organisers expressed interest in having YANZ return to the Community Adventure Day again in the future. This was encouraging, as it suggested that our presence added something valuable to the space. 

As I prepare to leave Aotearoa New Zealand, I feel both deeply saddened and incredibly grateful. The past few weeks have been filled with working with incredible people and with learning, creativity, community, and reflection. This experience has shaped me in so many ways. 

I will share more in my final output for the Laidlaw Network, which will also showcase the final project that I have been working on, but for now, I just want to reflect on everything this placement has given me: new perspectives, meaningful connections, and a deeper understanding of how storytelling, youth voice, and creative community-building can come together in practice.