14 Tuesday <strong>July</strong> 5 2016 Our People NOR’WEST NEWS Isabella Garbett Giving young people a voice St Andrew’s College student Isabella Garbett, 17, was recognised at the Canterbury Youth Awards for helping give young people a voice. She spoke to Georgia O’Connor- Harding about engaging with the youth of the city, her views on gender inequality and the time she spends feeding the homeless every Sunday. How does it feel to have been awarded the Advocate Inclusion and Diversity Award at the Canterbury Youth Awards last week? I was quite surprised. Aside from that, I am so incredibly humbled because the people I was up against do some incredible things. So good, but at the same time I wish everyone could be recognised for the awesome things they have done. This award is about ensuring young people have a voice. Could you tell me about some of the things you do to ensure this happens in the city? Primarily what I do outside of school is volunteer for New Zealand Red Cross project, Bounce. It came about after the earthquake and it is centred around creating a space for young people to talk about well-being and gearing them up with some tips to deal with tough times. It is run by young people for young people. I came in when they were starting to re-brand. It is about finding ways to engage people. A lot of people don’t want to read a text book. It’s targeted at people aged 12-24. In school, I am also the head of community service, the sustainability council, the student council and head of debating. But that’s not all you are doing. Are you an advocate for women’s rights as well? Most things I do with a feminist lens. There is a real trend with year 9-11 students where they are quite apathetic to a lot of women’s issues. (Men and women) might be equal in the eyes of the law, but we are not equal in the eyes of society. It is important to me when that younger generation comes through that they don’t forget about where we have come from and we have a good appreciation of women and their places in society. But feminism isn’t just about women – it affects men, too. What did you think of the whole Hornby High School skirt debacle last week? That is just another classic example of ridiculous doublestandards. Because when you tell girls that they need to wear longer skirts because they are distracting male teachers or male students, you are telling a boy he is more entitled to education than a girl is – and that is just not the case. A lot of the time people don’t think about what they are saying and how it translates. I know the school’s response was that it was not what they were quite trying to say, but as soon as you start saying those messages it is really harmful. Is there inequality in the city? Yes, it is not horrific, but New Zealand on a whole has quite an interesting culture in terms of gender inequality. Even with young boys and the messages we give them – that they have got to be strong, don’t cry – that is harmful. It is about ensuring both genders are given equal opportunity. We have horrendous domestic violence, rape, sexual violence. We have got bad suicide stats in New Zealand as a whole. And you have made a major contribution to the homeless? Our school has a relationship with this taxi driver called Daniel, who runs a feeding the homeless thing every Sunday at Latimer Square. I started doing that in year 10. I like to give back when I can. Over time I have built up some cool relationships HIGH ACHIEVER: Isabella Garbett was recently recognised at the Canterbury Youth Awards. (Inset) At the Canterbury A&P Show with Pablo, mascot for the New Zealand Red Cross project, Bounce. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN with the people (involved). Being able to understand why the homeless are where they are, and what is going on in their lives, is like building a friendship. Tell me about some of the most interesting people you have met? I met someone the other day who has been out of prison for five years. He is now working with more recently released prisoners to help them deal with getting out of prison. There was another guy, I’m not sure what his background was, but he sleeps on the street. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He keeps the order (in Latimer Square), makes sure everyone stands in a line and the kids get fed first. He is the last to come up and that is really humbling to see. What is it like seeing people your own age and even younger in that situation? It breaks my heart. I do the things I do because I have an education and opportunity, which means I will be able to go somewhere. It is people like that who keep me in check. You are in your last year of school. What do you want to do next year? I want to go to Victoria University of Wellington. I want to do a law degree and major in gender studies and history and do a Bachelor of Arts. What is your big dream? I want to end up running an aid organisation. I want to focus on women’s issues. I would love to do something in first-world countries in the lower-social economic areas. Then, after that, I want to go to Africa. I have got a teacher who taught in Uganda. I would love to do something like that. It is going to be a lot of work, but hopefully I am in a situation raising the awareness of people who are in the positions of power. Also enabling those who aren’t in power to get to where they want to be. Do you have any other hobbies in your spare time? I play four instruments and I sing. Violin, piano, guitar and viola. I love playing in the school orchestra. Aside from that, I hang out with my friends. I would not be anywhere near where I am today if it was not for my friends and family. 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