A youth led panel has awarded $154,000 in grants to 20 youth projects across Australia.
Awarded by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), the grants aim to develop projects that came out of the ABC Heywire Regional Youth Summit held in Canberra in February 2018.
Panellist Nickolas Stacey, 23, said that it is important to have young people involved in decision making about youth issues.
“I think there can often be a difference between what the young people proposing the project envisaged and what the people higher up think. It was a great opportunity to have young voices involved in the process,” he said.
With young people already developing and implementing the ideas, FRRR wanted to also see young people involved at the grant-giving stage of the process.
The 2018 grant projects tackle issues ranging from mental health and drug prevention, to youth disengagement and learning about healthy relationships, celebrating indigenous culture and connecting new Australian’s to agricultural careers.
The communities benefiting from the grants are spread right across Australia.
The youth panel awarded $9938 to Tennant Creek High School Council Inc. to reduce the incidence of domestic violence through an education campaign produced by Tennant Creek High School students, using community network maps, posters and videos.
And in Alice Springs, $10,000 was awarded to Yirara College of the Finke River Mission to strengthen community resilience and cultural awareness through ‘Welcome to Country’ events and cultural Arrente tours for Yirara College students.
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FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton, said that the FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation grants enable young people to work with community groups to tackle real, and at times confronting, issues that are impacting their local area.
“This is the sixth year that we have seed-funded projects with FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation grants and I am thrilled to say that there are a number of projects still going strong, and continuing to have an impact,” Ms Egleton said.
The Hon John McVeigh, the Minister for Regional Development, said this grant program strengthens regional communities.
“It’s great seeing young people taking the lead in regional development. I’ve witnessed the enduring impact of these grants in my own electorate and across the country. I congratulate all recipients of this grant round and look forward to seeing their projects develop.”
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