Winners of Youth Out Loud announced

Published on 03 December 2020

Congratulations to the winners of Youth Out Loud 2020, our public speaking competition for young people aged 12 to 25 who live, work, attend school or belong to a club in the City of Swan.

The competition has been running for 12 years and is a platform for young people to speak about issues that affect them and their communities.

This years’ theme was self. Young people were given the chance to explore their own identity as well as make recommendations on what they would like the City of Swan to do or stop doing, or create to support young people to be their authentic self.

For the first time in 12 years, the competition was run completely online, with contestants asked to submit a video of their speech.

The winner of the Intermediate category, Ellie Skinner from Kiara College, spoke of the impact social media has on self-identify and self-esteem of young people, along with recommendations for awareness raising programs to educate young people on the impacts of social media. 

The winner of the senior category, William van den Wall Bake from Guildford Grammar, discussed the concept of self in a political sense and his personal reflection of isolation during COVID-19 restrictions. He offered sound ideas for local governments to increase the opportunities for young people to speak up. 

The winner of the master category, Luke Button, discussed the social impact of social isolation particularly on self-health, and offered a number of practical ways that local governments can take action via events, forums and online workshops.

All the suggestions made by contestants in their speeches will be shared with the City’s Youth Leadership Committee where they will look at how to action them.