The New Zealand Centre for Global Studies (NZCGS) invites applications from Year 11–13 students to attend a one-day conference in Wellington, exploring the concept of global citizenship and how this can affect their individual lives and the political process in the generational time-frame.

The purpose of the conference is to encourage New Zealand high-school students to think creatively and realistically about the concept of global citizenship. It includes presentations from some of the world's experts in global governance, justice sustainability and law, including Dr Adrian Macey (Senior Associate in the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University, New Zealand's first Climate Change Ambassador, former Ambassador to France, OECD and Algeria and in Bangkok with responsibilities for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar); Dr Kennedy Graham (MP, former diplomat for New Zealand and former Director of the United Nations University); Professor Chris Gallavin (Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University, Wellington and former Dean of Law at Canterbury University); Associate Professor Marjan van den Belt (Director of the Ecological Economics Research New Zealand at Massey University); and Associate Professor Graham Hassall (Director of Pacific Island Programmes at Victoria University).

All student participants and other guests are invited to attend an evening reception at Parliament on Thursday 12 May from 6.00pm-7.30pm. The one day conference will be held on Friday 13 May from 8.30am-5pm, at the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Ministry of Education. The reception at Parliament is cohosted by parliamentarians Mark Mitchell (National), Su’a Williams Sio (Labour) and Dr Kennedy Graham (Greens).

Participants are expected to pay for their own transport to Wellington and accommodation. The costs of the conference (including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea) are covered by the NZCGS. We have made arrangements with the Wellington Downtown Backpackers for students attending this conference to receive a discount of 10% on accommodation costs. If you want to stay at this accommodation, please say that you are attending this conference when making your booking via info@hotelwaterloo.co.nz or www.hotelwaterloo.co.nz.

The hostel has a policy that guests under the age of 18 cannot share dormitory rooms with other guests, meaning that students under-18 will need to either book a private room or book out a dormitory with other attendees of the conference. Wellington Downtown Backpackers' policies and rates are attached to this form. If you want to stay at the Wellington Downtown Backpackers then you will need to book your accommodation by 13 April 2016.

Please note: The New Zealand Centre for Global Studies will only be responsible for students when they are attending the conference between the hours of 8.30am and 5.00pm on Friday 13 May. We will not be responsible for students when they are travelling to or from the venue, or at other times during their stay in Wellington.
 
If you are flying to Wellington, there is a good airport bus service that runs from the airport to the city (https://www.metlink.org.nz/tickets-and-fares/airport/). If your application for this conference is successful, we will send out further details with the address of the venue that the morning sessions are being held at.

At the end of this application form, you will be asked to write a 300–500 word letter on "Global Citizenship: what it means for you". In this letter we would love to hear about your relevant and skills and interests in global citizenship, and what excites you about attending this conference.

Scholarships: The NZCGS is offering two students, one from the North Island and one from the South Island, to have their transport costs (flights and transport into the city) and accommodation (for the night of 12 May) paid for. Please refer to the 'Scholarship' section of this application form. Applying for the scholarship will require you to outline your reasons for applying for the scholarship and an accompanying reference to support your reasons for applying.

If you are interested in this conference but unable to attend, you may be interested in a further conference that the Centre is involved with titled "Creative Activism and Global Citizenship" being held in Wellington on 1 July 2016. Please visit the website: http://www.massey.ac.nz/create1world/ for more information.

Please email Isabella Lenihan-Ikin at nzcgsconference@gmail.com for more information.

Application due by 5.00pm on 10 April 2016.

About the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies:
The New Zealand Centre for Global Studies is a non-profit organisation (a charitable educational trust) based in Auckland. The Centre has informal working relationships with universities, research institutes and think tanks in New Zealand and overseas. This is the second conference aimed at NZ high school students that the NZCGS has held. It will be followed by a further opportunity for a small group of students, selected from the conference, to take part in a weekend retreat at the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies on Waiheke Island, Auckland, where the students will first collaborate on and then complete a draft report.