Supporting Young People with Youth Strategy

Supporting Young People with Youth Strategy

Published on 13 December 2018

A four-year Youth Strategy has been adopted by Council to drive key initiatives that promote and support the health and wellbeing of young people in Baw Baw Shire.

The strategy, titled ‘Building the Best Years’, focuses on increased service provision to support, inspire, empower and engage local young people between 12 and 25 years of age.

Under the guidance of the strategy, Council will partner with young people, key agencies and the community to assist young people to achieve their goals and aspirations. Council will also seek to make new relationships with other organisations that can assist in achieving the objectives of the strategy.

Using an online survey and face-to-face sessions in schools, feedback was received from approximately 600 young people and key service providers in April 2018. This feedback provided relevant local data that has become the basis for the initiatives in the strategy.

The strategy outlines numerous initiatives under five key pillars:

Youth leadership: Fostering relationships and partnerships with community stakeholders and different tiers of government to actively promote youth leadership.  Participation: Engaging young people and improving their access to safely participate in their community, education, training, employment programs and services. Health and wellbeing: Integrating initiatives that improve health outcomes. Advocacy: Advocating for young people at relevant forums and providing advice to other levels of government. Innovation: Responding effectively to changing needs.

The strategy reflects the direction of our Community Vision and Council Plan 2017-21. The strategy also establishes a link to the Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan 2017-21 and intends to work closely with relevant strategies under the plan.

The recruitment process is underway for a dedicated Youth Officer resource to lead the implementation of the strategy.

To see the strategy in detail please go to www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/Youth

Quotes attributable to Mayor Cr Mikaela Power

“In recent times, Baw Baw Shire has experienced a significant increase in our young population. Sixteen per cent of residents, or around 7,800 young people aged between 12 and 25 years, are experiencing some of the most exciting and challenging years of their life.”

“Council is proud to present the new Youth Strategy, ‘Building the Best Years’. The strategy outlines a renewed focus on how Council engages with, supports and advocates for young people in Baw Baw Shire.”

“I look forward to working with our community and young people to deliver the actions in this strategy.”

Quotes attributable to Cr Jessica O’Donnell

“Since being elected into Council, I have been a strong advocate for supporting the goals and aspirations of young people in Baw Baw. There has been a mountain of work achieved in partnership with our community to get to this point. I am so proud to have been heavily involved in the process and am thrilled that this strategy has been endorsed.”

“The young people of today are our leaders for tomorrow. Through this strategy we will take steps to create a more supportive, engaging and inclusive environment for young people to build a stronger community into the future.”

Image: Baw Baw Shire Council's newly adopted Youth Strategy 2018-2022.