Hundreds of young people turned out for the Victorian Youth Summit on Friday, the second event of its kind in just under a month, to have their voices heard.
Hosted at Melbourne Park Function Centre, the event, with a theme of Harmony through Diversity, was opened by Minister for Youth Affairs Jenny Mikakos.
“This is a summit for young people, by young people – it’s about creating an opportunity for them to raise the issues they care about,” Ms Mikakos said.
“Young people overwhelmingly make a valuable contribution to our state and I’m proud to support them.”
Spoken word poet and author Abe Nouk hosted the event. The keynote address was delivered by 2018 Commonwealth Games star, 16-year-old Isis Holt, who was joined on the podium by filmmakers Ayan Yusuf and Daniel Schultheis, AFLW player Emma Kearney, and spoken word poetry workshop leaders Zaynab Farah and Bobuq Sayed.
The demographic was aged between 12 to 25, and participants had a platform to discuss an array of issues pertaining to both the Greek and wider Australian community, including acceptance, inclusion and equality in a bid to create strong and welcoming communities.
They participated in a range of workshops, where they had the chance to share their ideas to strengthen social cohesion and community harmony.
The Victorian Youth Summit is the flagship event of the state’s first ever Victorian Youth Week, co-designed by a Summit Design team featuring Victorian Youth Congress members and young people from peak youth associations.