Territory Families
Environment, politics, mental health, lifestyle and genderequality are a number of key topics up for discussion this weekend as part ofthe second Youth Round Table meeting for 2019.
The Youth Round Table is made up of 16 young peopleaged 15 to 25 and provides young people with a platform to get involved andhave their views heard by the Northern Territory Government about issues thatinterest or affect them and their peers.
The Youth Round Table members have identified anumber of key topics they will be working on, including:
Finding ways to keep young people in the Territory
Working with Kinship/Family and Foster Carers,schools and caseworkers to improve the experience of children in out-of-home-care
Empowering young leaders in Katherine
Raising and strengthening mental health in youngpeople
Promoting gender equity
Supporting respectful relationships and improvingself-image by encouraging a positive body image.
The Youth Round Table members are also consideringhow to re-write the narrative of young Territorians in a positive way, due toan often negative community perception of young people in the NorthernTerritory.
This second meeting will enable members tobrainstorm ways to capture and further develop positive youth relatedactivities and projects from suicide prevention awareness in schools tosupporting positive body image. These projects will help highlight and showcasethe potential of all young Territorians.
Territory Families Chief Executive Officer KenDavies said young people have a significant role in shaping the Territorysfuture and as the fastest growing age group, the Youth Round Table gives youngpeople a valuable platform to have their voices heard.
The Youth Round Table is an important tool whichallows our young people an avenue to voice their opinions, concerns and issues directto the Northern Territory Government and to contribute to government decisionmaking on youth related topics, he said.
Youth RoundTable member Hannah Maljcov from Alice Springs said young people are going tobe the most affected by the decisions that are being made today.
I am a youngperson that is deeply interested in how the future of my generation is going tounfold and I have a strong connection to many youth voices within thiscommunity, she said.
Young peopleneed to have a strong voice and a say in what happens. The Youth Round Tableprovides a constructive avenue for bringing peoples voices out in front.
The Round Table members represent the geographic,cultural and ethnic diversity of the Northern Territory and are outstandingyoung role models within their hometown and their wider communities.
The next Youth Round Table meeting will be held 24-25of August with the final meeting in December 2019.
