Young people in the Macedon Ranges recently gathered to voice their opinions and give valuable feedback on key issues in councils youth strategy.
Almost 100 secondary school students met at Woodend Community Centre alongside council workers, councillors, Sunbury Cobaw Community Health, Woodend Rotary, headspace, and Djaara Balaki Wuku, for the first summit of its kind in several years.
Participants discussed issues including public transport, the environment, physical activity, art and leisure, mental health, alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) matters, body image, career, education and more.
Council’s director community Maria Weiss said the Elevate Youth Strategy provides a roadmap to guide council on how to effectively support and engage with the shire’s young population.
“It’s essential that we actively listen to, learn from, and collaborate with our young people to ensure any initiatives we implement under the ELEVATE strategy are relevant to their needs,” she said.
“The summit has provided an excellent opportunity to do this and it was fantastic to see so many young people engage in it in such a positive way and contribute their ideas.”
Council said it is now analysing the summit findings to ensure the ideas, opinions, concerns, and aspirations raised are included in relevant future plans and actions.
