Seeking voices of the now generation

THE City of Ballarat is surveying young residents, their parents, and guardians as part of the development of their new five-year Youth Strategy.

Three surveys are live on the City’s MySay website and are aiming to collect information from the community on what young people want and need, and how the municipality could make the area a better place for them to live.

It’s also an opportunity for residents to share their views on any issues they see as particularly important, and submit ideas for youth programs, initiatives, events and activities.

A group of 12 young co-designers, including 16-year-old Josh Cronin, have been selected by Ballarat Youth Services to lead and promote the campaign named Generation Now: Youth Voices, Youth Vision.

“Some of the main issues for youth identified in our preliminary results are mental health, bullying in the community, drugs and alcohol,” he said.

“The more input we get, the more data we have that reflects the trends, and we can start to address the needs of the local community.”

More than 200 young people responded to the surveys in the first 10 days. The co-designers have also been engaging the community at public events, and recently approached young people at the Ballarat Begonia Festival.

Internal, youth sector, and community workshops will also contribute to data to identify key themes, and ways the City could implement changes to meet the needs of young people over the coming years.

The three surveys include one for those aged 12 to 25 who live, work, study or recreate in the City of Ballarat, one for parents, carers, guardians, allies, and people who work or volunteer with youth, and another for those in community organisations or sectors that work with young people.

They close on Friday, 8 April. Visit bit.ly/GenNow22 to contribute.