About

The BASE directory of youth services was developed by the South Dunedin Social Sector Trial, also known as BASE.

The Social Sector Trial was an initiative of government, supported by the Ministries of Social Development, Education, Health, Justice and the NZ Police, that ran from 2013 to 2016. It had a focus on improving both outcomes for young people and collaborative working across Dunedin. The trial developed and implemented 2 action plans including a wide range of projects and initiatives for young people. A large part of the trial’s focus was to encourage young people to seek help for any issues or concerns they have for themselves or their friends as early as possible.

This directory has been developed to make it as easy as possible for young people to find help when they need it.

In 2016 Government decided to transition the trial (and trials across the country) from being government-led to becoming community-led.

Two streams of work have emerged in Dunedin:

1. A working group to develop a long-term vision and strategy for young people in Dunedin which will be developed through a process of youth engagement, based on the Collaborating for Youth Success scoping exercise and report – click on the link for more details and the report:
   www.dunedin.govt.nz/collaborating-for-youth-success

2. Establishment of the Youth Opportunities Dunedin charitable trust to provide a vehicle to maintain momentum for the raft of initiatives which make up the Dunedin Youth Employment Strategy which was developed by the trial and its partners, including:

• Youth Link which has had a significant impact on the attitude and achievement of young job seekers, providing pastoral care, guidance and support as well as practical help in getting a job

• Secondary School Tracking, ensuring that no school leaver is lost between school and their next step;

• Youth Employment Success (YES) campaign, developing web based resources to support the creation of 1000 opportunities for young people and roll out youth friendly employer recognition;

• Dunedin Mozilla Hive, making use of the city’s Gigatown success to promote digital skills and web literacy for youth;

• Dunedin Community Driver Programme, ensuring that unemployed young people and young offenders are supported to get their driving licence;

• Map of Otago education and training courses by vocational pathways.

For queries about this directory, please contact Connect South:

it@connectsouth.org.nz or call 03 471 6177