City to host Health Equal Youth Day in 2025

THE Youth Affairs Council of Victoria will deliver its annual Health Equal Youth (HEY) Day in Bendigo next year to celebrate the LGBTIQA+ community and promote opportunities for youth engagement.

HEY day is supported by this year’s recently announced $400,000 Pride Events and Festivals Fund, of which there were 28 other recipients across two funding streams.

Events will run until November 2025 and also include the Trans Book Festival and the Pathways to Thriving Conference at Mount Alexander.

Transgender Victoria will deliver the Book Festival to showcase trans and gender diverse stories spanning fiction, memoir, poetry, non-fiction and graphic novels.

Meanwhile, the Pathways to Thriving Conference will be run by community support organisation Transcend Australia and aims to combat stigma and discrimination towards trans and gender diverse people.

It will bring together families and carers of trans and gender diverse youth, community organisations, service providers, practitioners and experts to share their knowledge, best practice and to make social connections. “Through our Pride and Events Festival Fund we are continuing to support a range of events and activities that encourage visibility, dignity and pride,” said Minister for Equality Harriet Shing.

“Inclusion and safety for our LGBTIQA+ communities through events and festivals is so important in making sure that LGBTIQA+ people can live wholly and freely.”

Since the program began in 2018, the Fund has supported over 200 events across Victoria.

To see the full list of 2024-25 funded events, visit the Victorian Government website.