Prize up for grabs: Spotting the Strengths of our young people

Lockdowns, school closures and physical distancing have all had a big impact on children and young people.

Yet, in the face of routines being upended, friendships at a distance, and dealing with the loss of milestone events like graduations, young people continue to show remarkable resilience and strength.

In recognition of World Positive Education Day on 4 November, and as part of Victorian Youth Week, Council is giving the community an opportunity to ‘call out’ the strengths of a child or young person (aged up to 25 years) in Maroondah.

Grab a quick video on your phone or other digital device pointing out a character strength you have seen in a young person and you’ll be in the running to win that young person a $50 gift card.

Led by the Maroondah City Council Youth and Children’s Services team, the aim of the videos is to demonstrate how young people in Maroondah are using their strengths and resilience to ‘bounce’ forward from the pandemic and to share these as messages of hope with other young people.

It could be how a young person has responded to challenges during home-schooling; shown leadership, gratitude or humour in uncertain times; or displayed kindness, humility and hope in helping others.

Character strengths are the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave. Research tells us there are 24 character strengths that are common to all of us.

The submitted clips will be used to create a series of short videos to be shared on Council’s social media throughout November.

The Positive Education Day theme for 2020 is ‘From Strength to Strength in Tough Times’ and focuses on character strengths - your own, and the strengths of those around you, which have helped us get through a difficult year and support one another.

To upload your video, visit the Spotting the Strengths of our Young People page on the Maroondah Youth website, which includes examples and step-by-step instructions to help get you going.

To learn more about the 24 Character Strengths and what each means, visit the VIA website.

For more information, phone 9294 5704 or 1300 88 22 33.