Empowering our young leaders to make positive change

“YOUNG people, when informed and empowered, when they realise that what they do truly makes a difference, can indeed change the world”- Jane Goodall

Last week, the City of Greater Geelong welcomed its fourth Youth Council. A highlight of being a councillor has been working with the Youth Council members – they have all been passionate, thoughtful, and outstanding representatives of their peers.

The Youth Council comprises 12 residents aged 12-17, four in each ward (Brownbill, Windermere, Kardinia, and Bellarine). They are elected for a 12-month term by their peers in our Youth Advisory Groups, and then elect their own Junior Mayor and Junior Deputy Mayor. They meet regularly and present reports to council quarterly throughout the year.

Ward councillors also have the opportunity to participate in the Mentor Connect program, where they engage in robust discussions with their Youth Council ward representatives.

Interest in the program continues to grow with 111 nominees for 2022, and it is recognised as one of the best programs of its kind nationally.

Almost 20,000 people aged 12-17 live in the municipality.

During these years, they are becoming more independent with more responsibilities, and their needs are very different from younger children who are well supported by council services and infrastructure (for example, playgrounds, early childhood education, maternal and child health services).

The physical and social environments young people live in are of critical importance to their current and future life opportunities. Yet they cannot vote or run for elected office (this should arguably change, but that’s another subject).

While young people are increasingly demonstrating their agency and voice (e.g., the global School Strike for Climate movement), all too often their voices can still go unheard (or worse, ignored) by decision-makers.

This is to the detriment of society as a whole. Young people often see issues with a clarity that is lost as people age.

Rather than dismiss this as naivety, I believe this is all the more reason to listen to them – they identify what is truly important, and they have the most at stake in the decisions governments make.

Our Youth Council goes some way to address this, by providing a formal channel for young people in our region to make their views known to council.

This year, our Youth Council’s top three priorities are mental health, climate change, and equality and discrimination.

With some minor variations, the same issues have been raised by all previous Youth Councils. And they are accurately representing their peers: in a much broader survey of over 20,000 Australians aged 15-19 by Mission Australia in 2021, COVID-19 (largely related to impacts on mental health and education), the environment, and equality and discrimination were highlighted as the most important issues.

Mental health cuts across just about everything, and their concerns aren’t just about access to mental health services. It’s about being in a society that accepts them for who they are regardless of race, gender identity, appearance, or religion.

It’s having access to safe homes and spaces (physical and virtual), having meaningful connection with others, having opportunities for future education and employment, and about addressing growing inequality.

Action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental challenges are of existential importance – the decisions we make today will have profound, and potentially irreversible, consequences for their future lives, and those of subsequent generations.

The consistency with which young people are raising these concerns demands of us, the decision-makers, what are we doing about them?

Through their work and advocacy, the Youth Council keeps these issues on council’s agenda.

They are also influencing our work by providing input to decisions we are making, requesting that we advocate on their behalf on various matters, and arguing for more investment in infrastructure (for example, they want to see more dedicated youth spaces in Geelong).

While not all of their recommendations can always be fulfilled (or at least not immediately), their presence and clear-eyed advocacy is genuinely making a difference.

I do not look at them as future leaders; they are leaders already. I only hope that we – the ones who have been given decision-making responsibilities in our community – can do as good a job.

Cr Sarah Mansfield
Brownbill Ward
Chair Community Health & Aged Care portfolio
Chair Diversity, Inclusion & LGBTIQ+ portfolio
[email protected]
0436 343 642