The title of this recording is "Qtopia Christchurch - KAHA Youth Hui 2009". It is described as: Wai Ho finds out more about the youth support group Qtopia. It was recorded in Tapu te Ranga Marae, 46C Rhine Street, Island Bay, Wellington on the 23rd January 2009. This is an interview with an unidentified interviewee (or possibly interviewees) conducted by Wai Ho. The name is spelt correctly but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 3 minutes. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: In this podcast Wai Ho finds out more about the youth support group Qtopia. The content in the recording covers the 2000s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The recording under discussion is an insight into Qtopia, a Christchurch-based support group dedicated to helping queer youth, which comes from an interview with an anonymous representative of the organization. The interviewer, Wai Ho, converses with the representative about the purpose and impact of Qtopia. This organization offers a haven away from academic institutions for individuals aged 14 to 25, navigated by a team of around seven facilitators and supervised by a board. Qtopia was initiated in the early 1990s in response to the challenging conditions for queer youth within the school system. Throughout its lifecycle, the group has experienced various changes in name and fluctuations in membership levels. At present, Qtopia services a membership of approximately 50, with weekly events attracting between 10 and 20 attendees. This record of participation highlights the group's ongoing relevance and the sense of community it fosters. The perception of Christchurch as a conservative and less tolerant location surfaces in the interview. The interviewee acknowledges the mixed levels of acceptance within Christchurch, pointing out that while some areas exhibit openness and safety for the queer community, others are less welcoming and inclusive. Compared to cities like Wellington or Auckland, Christchurch is still to achieve comparable diversity, hence the enduring social challenges. Addressing personal experiences, the interviewee discusses their own reticence regarding coming out during school years, opting for a disclosure at Christchurch Polytech. This decision underscores the apprehensive climate within Christchurch for queer individuals during that time. Nevertheless, shifts have been noted, with younger generations engaging with Qtopia and being more open about their identities, suggesting progressive changes in societal attitudes towards the queer community. In closing, the interview shifts to a lighter note, touching on the communal aspect of overnight stays during events, with a hint of humor about how sound sleeping can be achieved even amid snoring and chatter. The recording illustrates the pivotal role Qtopia plays in supporting queer youth and fostering a safe space that encourages openness and acceptance, both within personal circles and the broader Christchurch community. It also underscores how visibility and engagement in such groups can effect positive change in societal attitudes over time. The full transcription of the recording follows.  It includes timestamps every thirty seconds in the format [HH:MM:SS].  The transcription begins:  So here we have someone from Utopia, which is a group in Christchurch here to have a yarn with us. Can you tell us a bit about utopia? Um, Utopia is a youth group that's sort of set up independently from schools. Um, we have a range of ages from 14 to 25. It's facilitated by a group of sort of seven core facilitators. Um, we are overlooked by a board, [00:00:30] and we also have supervision once a month. Um, it was basic. Yeah, The idea behind Utopia was basically set up at a time when it was a really crappy place for queer youth to be in schools. So we want. So how long has it been around? Um, has been around since, like the early nineties. In one form or another, um, it's had, you know, sort of several names. And as with any youth group or group, it's gone through peaks and troughs. But at [00:01:00] the moment, we've got about 50 people registered as members and maybe between 10 and 20 of those turn up to an event on a weekly basis. So you guys are based in Christchurch. There's a there's a stereotype about about the South Island and about Christchurch being really redneck and homophobic. How have you found? Is that true? How have you found it down there? Um, I think for the most part, Christchurch is the conservative [00:01:30] of all the main, the most conservative of all the main centres. Um, in saying that, you know, there are parts of it that are totally un homophobic. And then there are parts, you know that you just don't feel that safe. And, um but, yeah, there's still a lot of work to do, and I mean, Christchurch in general just isn't as diverse as Wellington or Auckland. So there's always gonna be those sorts of issues until we get the population up and get some more interesting people [00:02:00] in there. And did you grow up in Christchurch? And how did you find coming out? And, um yeah, speaking for me personally, school was quite I didn't feel safe coming out in school, so I waited until I was in my first year at Christchurch Polytech, Um and yeah, that was just a personal choice. And because, you know, growing up in Christchurch and knowing what the lay [00:02:30] of the land was, Yeah, it is quite a scary place at some times. And so you work with, um, a whole range of young people now who are, you know, queer or whatever has has that changed? How are they finding life now in school and with their families? I think what's, um, really heartening is that people who are coming along to Utopia are younger and younger and younger, and they're out with their maybe not at school, [00:03:00] but at least with their families, younger and younger and younger. So there's definitely, you know, headway being made and kind of changing people's attitudes to homophobia and those sorts of things. It's happening slowly but great. And how did you sleep last night? Lots of people say there's lots of snoring and talking. I, um, actually took a little blue pill and I was out like a light. [00:03:30] Thank you very much for talking to us and enjoy the rest of thanks. This audio was brought to you by out there. For more information, visit WWW dot out there dot org dot NZ. The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2000s ; Auckland ; Christchurch ; KAHA Youth Hui (2009) ; Out There! National Queer Youth Development Project ; People ; Qtopia (Christchurch) ; Tapu te Ranga Marae ; Wai Ho ; Wellington ; Youth ; board ; choice ; church ; coming out ; conservative ; growing up ; homophobia ; hui ; organisation ; queer ; school ; social ; support ; time ; work ; youth ; youth group. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/kaha_2009_qtopia.html. The master recording is also archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.  For more details visit their website https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1089121. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.