Seven aspiring young leaders have been given the opportunity to help shape the future of Mitchell Shire and be a voice for the region’s youth.
The group was sworn in as Mitchell Shire’s Youth Council for 2021-2022 during a recent council meeting.
During their 12-month term, the group will share their passions and ideas for young people and provide a youthful voice for senior Mitchell Shire councillors.
Thomas Starkey will serve as Youth Mayor, Georgia Fletcher will serve as Youth Deputy Mayor and Trinity Marshall will be Youth Council secretary.
The other members of the Youth Council are Paige Ingham, Rebecca Garth, Cooper Price and Joshua Dixon.
The Youth Council is a unified voice that provides the important and essential understanding of topics that surround the municipality’s young people.
The seven members of the Youth Council will attend fortnightly meetings as well as events and functions, leadership and development opportunities and a leadership induction day.
Last year’s Youth Council opened a new youth hub in Wallan and helped launch the Clothes Swap Project, an initiative to promote sustainable fashion practices and educate people about the negative environmental impacts of fast fashion.
Mitchell Shire Mayor Rhonda Sanderson said she believed this Youth Council would have a strong role to play as the community recovered from COVID-19.
“Their unified voice will provide us the ability to understand our municipality’s younger population and their needs,” she said.
“These seven young candidates are outstanding examples of the capabilities of young people from throughout our townships.
“We, as a senior council, benefit greatly from their input. Young people are the future of our community and will be at the forefront of change for many years to come.
“With more and more families moving to Mitchell Shire, it is important that we have a strong voice from the young people in our community so that their views, opinions and ideas are well-represented.”