As my little village and a town close to me prepares to immerse our streets in yellow to remind young people how much we care about them and want them to chose life. I would like to share some stories I know about young people. I want to share these stories because the stories we tell ourselves matter. The language we use to tell stories about others matter.
Gezza Cares have started a fabulous initiative… by splashing YELLOW around the township they are showing SUPPORT and CARE for their youth and those in need, as well as representing SUNSHINE, HAPPINESS and HOPE!!“Gezza Cares is a community-led network on the South Coast, with a specific focus on caring for our young people and young adults.Gezza Cares is the local to harness community compassion and take collective action with a coordinated response that addresses the mental health needs in our community, and to bring hope for a brighter future.”
Since 2006 I have been working with young people between the ages of 8 and 18. The emerging agricultural leaders who work with me have reached over 300,000 young people in that time
To ensure what our organisation does meets the needs of the young people we work with, we do extensive research. We talk to them; we listen to them, we give them multiple vehicles to use their voices and raise awareness of the things that matter to them.
Our organisation has become the GO-TO place for people who want to know what young Australians are thinking, feeling, talking about, want to learn about and want to act on
What I can tell you is young Australians are extraordinary, they want a life with purpose, they want to make a difference in the world everyday.
More and more we are finding one of the things that young people want to learn about is how we can all be kinder to each other.
They also need our help. We ask them to rate their superpowers to get the jobs of the future. The four superpowers that help you stand out from the crowd in the workplace today are
- Ability to work in teams
- Creativity
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Communication skills – the ability to share your idea
So we design our programs to support teachers to give young people superpowers too.
We all know it takes a village to raise a child, we can all be role models, we can all think about the language we use to share their stories. Lets help them choose life.
Lets design our bright future together
Footnote
To learn more about how young people are feeling I highly recommend the work of the Foundation for Young Australians found in their latest poll. The report can be found here There most recent research report on flexible and insecure work is called The New Work Standard.
Want to learn how your town can have important conversations I highly recommend RAMHP
