Key Findings

Throughout the youth engagement activities and discussions there were common themes that were identified by the young people as important for a ‘Youth Friendly Community’ in their local government area. These are listed and explained as follows: • Welcomed: Young people to feel invited and welcomed into a place, whether that be the atmosphere, the experience or the set-up. • Youth Specific: Places, spaces and activities specific to young people; where they felt connected, safe, supported, understood their specific needs and interests and provided opportunity to be with other young people. • Affordable: Many young people were simply excluded due to costs, including low costed activities hence this was an important consideration for youth inclusion. • Accessible: Many young people were also excluded due to not being able to access activities (e.g. transport, support, public facilities) hence this was another important consideration for youth inclusion. • Individual Factors: When it comes to young people it is most important to respect and understand that one size does not fit all. What may work for one young person may not necessarily work for another and this can be well outside of their control. Examples include confidence/self-esteem, family culture/relations, socio-economic factors, personal supports or lack of them. Hence when talking about young people we needs to consider the varying factors that impact their lives, their choices and their options. • Supported Growth: It was important that young people are supported and respected with relation to their individual and varied learning styles, development capacities, time requirements to understand and individual interests; if they are to grow. This included any situation where capacity building was involved and applied to ‘youth-specific’ spaces/activities where confidence and self-esteem were being developed and could be effected by others. • Valued and Engaged: Youth want to be recognised and valued as a young people and what they can offer. They want the opportunity to be informed and engaged and also have the opportunity for their perspectives to be heard.

They also wanted to contribute to the decision making process, both as representatives of the younger community and an individual community member within the region. • Safety: This included feeling safe in spaces and places; where anti-social behaviour occurred (including drugs and alcohol); and from bullying.

The following pages provide the key strategies identifed under each of the eight themes for the project’s engagement activities.