Representatives from the Kiama Council’s Strategic Planning, Community Engagement and Cultural Developments teams spent time with students at Kiama High School on 15-16 May 2024, offering workshops in contribution to their Growth and Housing Strategy. 

The Council had previously quizzed Kiama High School’s Student Representative Council (SRC), who co-facilitated these sessions, about how they could obtain the best answers from teenagers in the community. These workshops indicated that the Council not only listened to their answers, but were committed to implementing the results. 

The two days involved a series of 10 workshops of 45 minutes each, containing 180 students in total across Years 9-12.

“Each workshop included a brief introduction, followed by several interactive activities that asked the students to share insights on what they loved and what they thought could be improved about Kiama LGA and housing (general and specific),” stated a spokesperson from Kiama Council.

Kiama High School students appreciated their opportunity to contribute to Growth & Housing discussions.

Relieving Head Teacher Wellbeing, Gemma Crane, explained that students were asked to identify places and things they like and dislike about Kiama. 

“They were then asked what their priorities were for the community for the future and what they felt we needed more of. Answers ranged from entertainment and sport, to environmental considerations,” she detailed. 

Crane said the students particularly loved the interactive part, at the end of the session, where they got to share their ideas and visions around priorities in their future homes through LEGO-building. 

Students shared their visions through LEGO building.

According to Kiama Council, “the objective (of the workshops) was to gain insight into the needs and wants of our young people to inform the development of our Growth and Housing Strategy, guiding future development in the Kiama LGA.” 

Crane praised Kiama Council for their efforts to engage with our community’s younger generation. “Students liked feeling heard and giving feedback on big issues impacting the community,” she said. 

This notion was cemented by the School Captain, Thomas, who said: “Our youth are the future of our community, so being heard is something that is very important to today’s society. This program has really nurtured youth’s voice in a positive manner.” 

Vice School captains, Ruby and Jack mirrored Thomas’ appreciation. “It was an engaging program for the students to have their opinions on issues in the Kiama LGA heard, and suggest improvements that can be made to benefit young people,” said Ruby.

Jack added that the sessions were, “an amazing interactive experience, as it allowed the future of the community to have their say on relevant and future issues.”

Kiama Council continues to welcome input from the community, with the engagement period and associated survey open until 31 May. For further information, head to: www.kiama.nsw.gov.au/Council/Your-say/Growth-and-Housing-Strategy