Kiama Sentral Youth Services at the Youth Cottage in Hindmarsh Park or the ‘Youthie’ Cottage held its regular Kiama Youth Showcase in Hindmarsh Park on Saturday August 19 from 12pm to 3 pm in partnership with Beyond Empathy, which is behind many local teen mental health initiatives.Of note was the launch of realFm, a podcast series made by Kiama Youth celebrating hanging out, noticing life is a bit weird, and being a bit weird yourself. You can listen to realFM, especially a story about a puffer fish in a cup! Listen here to the first 3 episodes released on August 18. www.spreaker.com/s/y2n3TqAD3gAY Also on the Orry Kelly stage were a number of local bands Jacob Lewis, Zerconium, Janis and Rhys Evans. Zerconium played some originals (pretty good on stage performance of EXHALE which might even be an original!) and metal/punk standards including Nirvana. Zerconium had some early Silverchair energy in their on stage performance. On display also were some photographic stills made by local young people and a short film showcasing the services Sentral Youth Service provide especially its regular hang out which is a safe and inclusive space, and studio where young people can explore and record their own creative projects. Sentral had its 30th anniversary celebrations in April featuring a reunion of old and current Sentral staff (an event which had a bit of Doctor Who vibe). It also provides drop in times just to hang out on Wednesday, 3-6pm and Friday, 3-6 pm for social hanging out, but also has professional support services when it’s time to talk about something serious and get some advice.

Kiama High’s Student Representative Council (SRC) has put forward submissions on multiple issues they feel are important for local youth in Kiama Council’s annual Youth Engagement Meeting, which was held on Zoom earlier today today.The Youth Engagement Meeting, held each year during Local Government Week, is a properly constituted meeting of Kiama Council, involving councillors, senior staff and the SRC.Council reports back to students on the matters raised and other actions agreed to from last year.One submission from last year’s meeting was to upgrade the Showground unstable fencing structure. Today’s meeting reported Council has received almost $1 million of grant funding for works on the fencing, as well as new temporary grandstands for the Kiama Show and further augmentation work in the cattle yards and in the Pavilion.At today’s meeting, submissions from the SRC on behalf of local youth looked at upgrades for Kiama High School carparks and local skate parks, the organisation of more youth activities and mental health resources, and even a solar power initiative for the school.“I have some ideas that the greater student body had talked to me about. The first one being an improvement to the back carpark down near the school bus bay on Weston Place,” said Keegan Willetts, School Captain in the meeting.“It is quite run down and it is pretty unsafe as there is a lot of tree branches that fall down and the tree roots cover a lot of the car park.“I feel like if it was filled in with some dirt or gravel it could really improve the overall use of the carpark and make it a lot safer for everybody.”The senior’s carpark on Saddleback Mountain Road was also mentioned for upgrading with line marking or pavement. Council said they would put in a maintenance request to look at the carparks and organise a meeting with the student body to take some actions towards fixing both of these carparks.The SRC at the meetingAnother submission, made by Year 9 student Summer Brooks, called for more youth events like volunteering activities.“The youth could participate in volunteering activates such as tree planting, a youth market or a twilight market to help small businesses grow larger and help boost community engagement with youth,” she said.Kiama’s Youth Service coordinator Melissa Andrews said they are already looking to create more opportunities for local volunteers in the near future.“The Youth Service is currently trying to create a volunteering protocol because we don’t actually have one in place to be able to take on volunteers,” said Ms Andrews.“We have certainly done projects with young people before but in terms of having formal volunteering program it is something we are looking into at the moment for both young people and older people in the community.”There was also a submission on the need for a local mental health service.“I’m requesting on behalf of my school and the youth of Kiama for the Council to provide a local service like the headspace in Wollongong,” says Caitlin Haih, School Captain.“I think this is increasingly important as the recent lockdown restrictions have shown that there needs to be more local mental health resources available for the community.”Council agreed with this submission and is advocating with local MPs Gareth Ward and Fiona Phillips to try and expand mental health services in Kiama, as the closest headspace in Wollongong can be too far for locals to go.The SRC also called for maintenance and an upgrade of Kiama, Gainsborough and Gerringong skateparks, mentioning that local Olympic skateboarder Kieran Woolley could help design the park upgrades.Skating is now an Olympic sport, and Minnamurra local Kieran Woolley made it to the finals“At the moment, the skateparks are something that we do maintain when we are asked to as we don’t have a funded program of upgrades,” says Mike Dowd, Director Engineering and Works.“The sports and recreation open space strategy will absolutely incorporate an opportunity for students to contribute on what they want to see us focus on in terms of upgrading skateparks and outdoor recreation sites like the Bike Skills Track in Minnamurra.“We will be engaging with yourselves, other youth and groups around the LGA over the coming months to absolutely prioritise where you want us to invest.“Our budget is fully allocated and we don’t have any skatepark upgrades in that list yet but I am very keen to work with you, the school and other youth.”A solar power initiative was also submitted to increase the solar panel capacity at the High School. Programs like Solar My School, which has been implemented by a school in the Shellharbour area, were given as an option for Council to use. Council agreed with the importance of this initiative but said the budget for the year has already been committed.Council also used the meeting to inform the Student Council about future employment opportunities at Blue Haven, HSC support sessions at Kiama Library, road safety projects and the Young Australian of the Year and Australian Day Young Citizen Awards.

We are facing some big changes in the course of our council. They are changes that many of us hope will be a course-correction.Big topics such as sustainability, town character and finances form the basis of some vital and exciting questions: What kind of community do we want to live in? What do we care about and for who? And why? A simple answer to the final question is: ‘The future!’Naturally, I make it my business to engage with all of our community members on these important issues, but I plan to direct a significant amount of interest towards the youngerpeople of our area.To my mind it seems we spend a lot of time on the adults in our society. In development, planning and many other things, I do not want to overlook our future generations.The idea that young people don’t have as much to contribute as adults is ingrained in our culture. As adults, we often perpetuate the same things grown-ups told us when we were young.Young people of all ages can make a contribution whether they’re in school, work, training, or some other arrangement or community organisation.I am taking time to listen and learn from them. And I will do whatever I can to ensure the voices of our youth are included and heard at council.Everyone is busy, including young people. They have packed schedules with school, extracurricular activities, work, and helping at home. Some may be carers – of siblings, parents or other family members – or they may even have young children of their own. If they are going to be giving up some of their time, they need to know it will be time well spent.In scheduling youth engagement, we are mindful of that. Time is a precious commodity.It is often assumed that more experience is always better. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is very easy to dismiss the ideas and skills of young people as lacking experience, and shut them out of the conversation.We need to recognise that young people have valuable and unique insights and knowledge. We should make room for different kinds of experience and value different perspectives.With this in mind, this year’s annual Youth Engagement Council Meeting on 1 September will take a new format. One that invites participation from young people across our municipality, who will bring a range of talents, understanding and perspective. We will work in groups to discuss strategic goals and council plans that affect us all, much like we did with our Community Strategic Plan workshops earlier this year.No experience is necessary to join in the creation of the future when you’ll own it!I well remember how intimidating it can be to speak up in a group of adults. I’ll make sure that once our youth are at the table, we create an environment of respect that allows their voices to be heard.We’re also keen to include a diversity of gender, age and circumstances to promote better and more meaningful youth engagement. This is absolutely necessary to ensure we’re not making assumptions based on our own beliefs, which may not be the reality for the next generation.And it won’t begin and end with one meeting. I will also be visiting the Youthie (SENTRAL Youth Services) more regularly, seeking advice from our excellent Youth Services staff to make this a successful initiative. This way, we will ensure that the intergenerational conversation keeps flowing.I believe that young people and adults have much to learn from each other because, together, we’re all creating the future of Kiama Municipality.

Council’s annual Youth Engagement Meeting was today flipped from the traditional formal meeting at the High School to a more inclusive environment where young people were free to have their say, given they will be the most impacted in the future by today’s decisions. The relaxed and positive atmosphere of the session saw the students from Kiama High, Ss Peter & Paul, Kiama PS and Minnamurra PS mingle with each other, councillors and staff while commenting on Council’s open spaces and housing strategies.Youth Services Director, Melissa Andrews, says there was a real leveling of adult and young people. “From what I’m seeing and hearing, I think it went fabulously. Young people are saying that they feel valued which was quite moving to hear,” Ms Andrews says. “The Councillors involved were willing to just listen, and were really taking what was said on board."They heard of activities that are missing in the area, ideas to keep young people in the area and concerns about the affordability of housing. Kiama High School captain, Josh Hefren, was impressed by everyone raising their hand to get involved. “The issues related to all kids from year six through to year eleven. The format was nice, easy and good fun,” Josh says. Other students in attendance said they felt grateful, accepted, confident and encouraged throughout the experience. A videographer from Kiama High School was there to film the process, as well as a visual storyteller (above) to show a visual representation of the meeting. A report of the meeting will be compiled and sent to Council, and be available to the public through the business papers.

Beyond Empathy, a cultural arts for community development organisation, is inviting the community to come along to their film night where they will show snippets of two of their films, ahead of their series of workshops for youth.Protection tells the story of children from public housing estates in the Illawarra while Rites of Passage, which has been screened at international film festivals, follows six disadvantaged and marginalised teenagers who respond to the challenges surrounding them.There will be a Q&A with the cast and crew afterwards.The night will also launch a series of workshops for youth, aged 12-24 years old, that involves working with creators of award-winning films and podcasts to create their own work.“Whether it be podcasts or film, it’s something that young people can come together and create collaboratively,” says Beyond Empathy’s Shaniece Igano.“We are very excited to have everyone come and get to know us and see what we do.” Community Film Night, 3 March, Joyce Wheatley Community Hall, 7-9pm

Competing against adults, young Gerringong Surf Club members have again stepped up and impressed with 15 year old Wyland Hall named the 2023 Werri Warrior and last year’s surprise winner, 12 year old Lucy Darragh, right behind him in second place.This year’s event was one of the biggest with over 65 competitors and thousands of spectators lining the beach.It saw competitors of all ages set off at the same time to face a swim around a buoy, a run to the north end of Werri Beach, and another two swims before a final run to the top of Gerringong Headland and back. The action was captured by Brian Scott: At the beach: The 2023 Werri Warrior Competition. Member of Gerringong Surf Club, Richard Payne, who started the event seven years ago with his brother Mitch, says, “Both Wyland and Lucy have been training really hard with the Club all season. They are fantastic swimmers and good runners, so they had a really good battle for the top.Lucy presents Wyland with the coveted winner's jacket“The Club is certainly very proud of Wyland and Lucy and all the hard work that they have put in over the past couple of years to see them perform so well.” The competition also saw a number of 10 year old nippers complete the full course, with a group of younger nippers completing it as a team. “It was fantastic to see. It was an amazing effort from all of our young nippers,” Richard says.“It was a fantastic day with the best weather and surf conditions we’ve ever had. “It started off as a small surf club event that’s grown into a much larger event which brings a lot of people in to get involved, including Gerringong Lions and the Werri Boardriders."

Three keen high school students from the LGA will face a mock sitting in NSW Parliament House this weekend as the Youth Parliament program comes to an end. Daniel, Finlay and Alyssa joined like-minded people from across the State in the ten week program which gives young people the opportunity to engage with civic leadership, policy development and democratic parliamentary debate. The program has seen former Youth Parliamentarians go on to become Members of Parliament. Finlay, who says the program is an amazing experience, is encouraging others to join the next round. “I love my community and love the area of Kiama so us smaller town communities need to get out there, use our voice and show what we’re passionate about because this is the place to do it,” says Finlay, who is just 16 years old. “It’s a fun program and, at the end of the day, it’s not real parliament so the stakes aren’t high, and you can get to learn how the system works. It's really great.”  His committee – transport and infrastructure – has been looking at accessibility for disabled access into transport and infrastructure as well as mandatory inclusion zoning for social housing in new developments. “It is based on personal interest, and it is through that parliamentary and debate process that we have been able to refine our ideas, our bills and truly express the values of young people,” he says. Alyssa, who is also 16 years old, speaks very highly of the program and says it was the perfect ‘taste tester’ for what life as a parliamentarian is like. “I have always been a huge youth advocate and because I love this program so much, I definitely see myself running for a spot in parliament one day,” she says. Her justice committee is debating a bill on protesting rights where she hopes the ideas of young people can make a change and change the ministers’ attitudes. “It’s an amazing experience, especially to meet like-minded people from across the State who I would have never met and formed connections with.” 17-year-old Daniel also commented, “Kiama is a lovely area and an amazing community but in many ways it’s more insular than I realised, so bringing us out of our comfort zones and meeting all these truly different people is amazing.” While he is looking forward to debating his bill – which looks at the effects of COVID on education, particularly the mental health effects and the digitalisation – he says it isn’t the core of the program. “It’s the parliamentary education and getting kids into this amazing environment with this brilliant mood where there are interjections left right and centre, and fascinating debates. “It nurtures our ability to think for ourselves and hone our citizenships,” Daniel says. With politics a passion of his, he is interested in the debate and parliamentary process. “I have this love for democracy where I feel that as long as we are talking about issues and discussing issues, that we can move forward as a society.”See here for more information on Youth Parliament.