At the invitation of the Deniliquin Youth Initiative committee, a passionate group attended a ‘Share a Meal & Speak Up’ at the Edward River Youth Centre in Harrison St (formerly the CWA Hall) on Monday evening.
As well as a forum to share ideas for future projects and programs, the evening was about connection.
Discussion topics included Youth Week 2027 activities, what young people would like to see more of in Deniliquin, youth leadership opportunities and interest in a regular youth gathering.
The forum was one in a series coordinated by the Deniliquin Youth Initiative, which established the Edward River Youth Centre.
The sessions have been facilitated by Dimitrios Papalexis, who is founder and director of Sydney-based social enterprise soul-gen.
He has been visiting Deniliquin monthly this year, which has included some sessions at Deniliquin High School.
“We want to get their ideas about a Youth Week event next year, but also see how they want to get involved in the community - what are their priorities, what are some of the things they want to see different in Deniliquin for young people - and building that relationship with them in a fun a way,” he said.
Mr Papalexis said some of the desired initiatives junior and senior student leaders had listed already include movie nights, opportunities to meet a wider variety of other young people, trying new things and being more involved in community leadership and decision-making.
He highlighted than any projects and program pursued would require community support, particularly from groups and organisations willing to work together to support young people.
You can stay up to date with Edward River Youth Centre initiatives by joining its Fecebook page.
