By Callum Ludwig
Yarra Ranges young people have been able to have a voice where it matters in a new program.
24 students from Upper Yarra Secondary College in Yarra Junction and Worawa Aboriginal College in Healesville, undertook presentations to mark the conclusion of the 11-week ‘Hearing the Voice of Yarra Ranges Youth’.
Run out of Yarra Ranges Tech School, Mooroolbark College students were also in attendance to get inspired as they too begin the program.
Director of the Yarra Ranges Tech School Ashley Van Krieken said the thing that impressed him most was that the students are only in Year 7 or 8.
“The fact that they’re coming up with these concepts and these ideas at that age just show so much potential for the Yarra Ranges community. Now we can start the discussion with them around education and career pathways, it’s a really good discussion to have with students around finding their interests,” he said.
“This has given them an opportunity to look at different ways that you can use technology and what that can enable them to do.”
Worawa Aboriginal College students presented first and showcased their Sharing Dreamtime Stories idea. They want to create large-scale projected digital artwork to be displayed on silos, dam walls or buildings such as the Warburton Sanitarium building, providing education on the Indigenous history of significant sites. They said local elders would be consulted and the nature of projection art would be suitable as a replacement for permanent art that is barred from heritage-listed sites.
Executive Director of Educational Delivery at the Box Hill Institute Jane Trewin said it’s extremely important hearing the youth of today and our future leaders of tomorrow.
“Certainly their ideas, concepts and outside-of-the-box thinking blow you away with what they come up with at times. They put a whole different spin on things than what adults would, would approach it,” she said.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for them to step out of their secondary school and come here where they’ve got every form of advanced technology known to man, it really shows them some of the opportunities that are out there for the future. Some students come into thinking they aren’t really into technology and are artier, but as we’ve seen today there is even art in technology. “
It was on to the Upper Yarra Secondary College students next, who split their project into separate plans for the exterior and interior of the Warburton Sanitarium building. Finn, Sam and Eddy envisioned using the space outside of the building for a community garden to promote healthy eating, bringing in Indiegnous flora to plant along the the properties riverbank and an electric vehicle charging station to utilise the factory’s hydro-power facilities.
Kate, Anna, Talei and Ariel had grand ideas for an entertainment facility, with potential for a kitchen and dining area, a community library, a communal working area, and fun activities like bowling, laser tag or a skating rink. They used a stop motion video starring Lego to demonstrate their plan.
Ariel said it was fun getting to create everything for their project and having the option for whatever thy wanted to do.
“The presenting was a bit scary, but it feels good to be able to have a say in what to do and knowing we will get to take part in something,” she said.
“We brainstormed ideas and someone suggested the Warburton Sanitarium factory and everyone liked that, so we turned all of our little ideas into one big idea. We should be able to have a say in these things because we will soon be living with it, if you are younger, you’ll have a lot to do with the future.”
The ideas presented will help to contribute to the Yarra Ranges Council’s Economic Development Strategy (EDS), laying out the plan for the next 10 years of the region.
Yarra Ranges Council Youth Ambassador Patience Ntim-Duodu helped the students throughout the development of their projects and said she has been helping to make sure the students felt as though they had their voices heard and were feeling comfortable.
“It seems like they really embraced it and hopefully they did find it worthwhile. It’s so important, and I definitely did not have something like this when I was in school. It has opened many doors and shows that their potential is limitless,” she said.
“It’s also important because it is connecting students to Council and makes them aware of young people and puts a face to them, that connection point makes it so special. It gives you an intrinsic sense of purpose, meaning and connection to where you live.”
