In part three of our four part series, Survive Law NZ interviewed two student volunteers from the Education team, which aims to teach young people and other members of the community about the law and their legal rights relating to employment, sex and health, and the police.
In case you missed it, we spoke to volunteers for The Hive publication and the Research and Submissions team in part 2 of our series on Law Reform and volunteers from the Human Rights team in part 1 of our series.
Volunteer 1
What does being a volunteer in the Education team involve?
Being a volunteer involves going to schools, halls and other organisations to present on a range of legal topics such as employment or tenancy. The presentations are designed to be fun and engaging, whilst also providing the audience with a good understanding of the law in areas they will likely encounter in their day to day life.
Why were you interested in being part of the Education team?
I wanted to be a member of the education team because trying to find out about law and your legal rights can be really challenging unless you have specific legal skills. However the areas the education team present on are areas of law where it is often crucial to have an understanding. It has been great getting to use the skills I have developed through my law degree to give back to the community in a meaningful way.
What have been some highlights and challenges whilst being part of the Education team?
One of the biggest highlights has been receiving good feedback and knowing the presentations have had an impact. Although at times engaging a class can be challenging, you learn skills at the start which you continue to develop with each presentation about how to address this and present in a way that ensures the audience does want to listen.
Volunteer 2
What does being a volunteer in the Education team involve?
Being a volunteer in the Education team is great fun and involves running educational seminars for predominantly high school students. While there is a little bit of travelling to get to the presentation locations, minimal preparation is required as you often already know quite a lot of the information and have a partner to help fill in any gaps you have. Important qualities as a volunteer are enthusiasm, patience and an ability to chat to/get along with children.
Why were you interested in being part of the Education team?
I believe that knowing your basic rights is absolutely crucial. Children and young people are simultaneously some of the most vulnerable people in society and the least likely to know their rights. I saw the Rights Education Project as a way to help spread fundamental knowledge to this age bracket.
What have been some highlights and challenges whilst being part of the Education team?
My most enjoyable experience was during the drugs and alcohol segment where we asked groups of high school students to design their own drug/alcohol advertisement and present it to the class. The results were brilliantly dark, disturbing and hilarious. The creativity was fantastic!
The biggest challenge of being a part of the Education team is the hours. Because the presentations take place during school time, they inevitably clash with university classes and work. I found it was difficult, and at times impossible, to be available as a presenter because of work and school commitments. This is something to be wary of when signing up.
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