G Geelong Social Innovators

YOUNG people absolutely smashed it at Crazy Ideas College’s Geelong Social Innovators event.

Over two days, young people gathered based on similarities between social issues they’re passionate.

From there they thought up, prototyped, marketed and pitched a solution to the social issue that resonated with them most.

Crazy ideas developed at the program include:

The Ro-Bird – a drone shaped like a bird that plants trees in local communities. The Ro-Bird fights deforestation and increases access to remote and rural areas that volunteer tree-planting groups may be unable to reach

The Study Bot – a portable robot that helps students with homework by adapting to individual learning needs, thus reducing stress and anxiety around school and providing a supporting learning environment at home

Following the program, they pitched their ideas to members of the Geelong community.

Chef Grilby – a robot that promotes healthy eating by cooking nutritious meals in its in-built oven, targeted at time-poor and busy parents, and

The Kindness Hat – a stylish item of clothing that sends electric waves to the wearer, encouraging them to be kinder to those they interact with. This promotes community connection and assists in creating a community more focused on collective wellbeing than individual needs.

“It’s so cool to see young people passionate about such big issues in the world and giving them the space to unleash,” Crazy Ideas College program facilitator Erin Ciconte said.

They have so much potential and so many ideas and providing an opportunity over these two days to access that and put it to use is really awesome to see.”

Young people felt more confident to make a difference in their community after participating in the program.

At the end of the two-day program, young people pitched their magnificent ideas to members of the Geelong community, who shared what next steps to bring the ideas to life could look like and recommended others in Geelong who could help.

Young people shared they felt more confident in their ability to make a difference in their community after participating in the program and can see themselves taking more initiative in the future.

“This program definitely did make me realise that I have a lot of power, and it was empowering to know my voice matters and that I can make a difference in the community,” Year 9 Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College student Martha said.

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