Coming up on June 30 in Wainoni is ‘Game Zone’ – a half-day interactive event designed to help rangatahi build skills, create connections, hear from professionals on healthy living strategies, and gain useful career advice.

Presented by He Waka Tapu and Unstoppable, Game Zone participants will be able to test their gaming skills and enter the Esport tournament hosted by the students at NZMA Christchurch. Healthy Families Ōtautahi have recently reported on the benefits of Esports for rangatahi, including providing them with some of the skills they would get from being involved with traditional sports – teamwork, dealing with winning and losing, perseverance, dedication, and practicing a skill to improve it.

In addition to the Esports competition, there will be Virtual Reality headsets available to try courtesy of Christchurch City Council libraries, and, students from the Skills Update Hospitality class from NZMA will be preparing and serving mocktails, putting skills learned at NZMA into practice in a real world setting.

Finally, there will be the chance for rangatahi to explore future pathway and career options, have a try at one of many ‘Give-it-a-go’ stations, and hear from professionals with lived experience from all walks of life in three ‘Life Seminars’. The themes of the Seminars are “Health and Wellbeing”, “Suicide Prevention”, and “Stop Smoking and Vaping”.

At Healthy Families Ōtautahi we are striving to improve the lives of New Zealanders where they live, learn, work and play – an event such as Game Zone will be so beneficial for rangatahi in Christchurch; they can learn new skills, hear about strategies for living in a healthier way, and gain career advice. We fully support this event and encourage rangatahi to attend! 

No registrations are needed – just show up on the day! For full details, check out the event’s official Facebook page.

Article added: Wednesday 21 June 2023