Story by Ethen Messer
Year 10 Student at Padua College
Each year, students from around the city are selected to represent their local community for an initiative that is intent on making positive changes for the people of Brisbane.
The Lord Mayor’s Youth Council is a collective of year 10 students representing different schools who meet regularly, interacting with their peers as well as Councillors, devising ideas and creating projects to benefit their community.
This year, I have been given the privilege of representing Padua College on the Youth Council. I wasn’t sure what to expect when the Youth Council first met, however, since then I have built many new friendships and connections.
Youth Council Projects and Initiatives
Throughout the year, students in groups have been tasked with creating projects and initiatives that address issues in and around Brisbane. With ideas ranging from helping the homeless directly and working with the elderly, to encouraging people to learn sign language, the students of the 2024 Youth Council are prepared to tackle the big issues.
The Youth Council has been fortunate to have direct access to many Councillors and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. The Lord Mayor said at the first meeting of the year: “If youth don’t think they can make a change, they won’t”. We on the Youth Council certainly feel that we have been given the opportunity to make a change and we are not going to waste it.
In May this year, I was also fortunate to represent the Youth Council at Brisbane City Council’s Homeless Connect event. This annual event provides much-needed support and services for those people experiencing homelessness in Brisbane. Throughout the day, I spent some time with Cr Danita Parry who I met at our Youth Council meetings. It was also an eye-opening experience speaking with people my own age at the event, who have found themselves in need of help and support.
The next six months of the Youth Council will see us further developing our ideas and initiatives to present them to the whole Youth Council at the end of the year. I look forward to providing more details of our initiatives, including how you can get involved, later in the year.
Nelson Mandela once said, “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow”, and I truly believe that the 2024 Lord Mayor’s Youth Council is proof that he was 100% correct.
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