Meet Federation Council's New Youth Mayor

Published on 03 May 2018

Dylan Forge has been elected to lead his peers as the Federation Youth Council Mayor at Monday night’s inaugural Federation Youth Council Ordinary Meeting.

The 15 year old from Corowa chaired the second half of the meeting at the Corowa Civic Centre adopting that meetings will be held every second Tuesday of the month, in Corowa and Oaklands starting from 4:30 pm.

Olivia Hughes was elected as Deputy Mayor, and will be supported by Federation Youth Councillors Caitlin Moir, Liam Summons, Noah Little, and Tyler Martin. The Youth Secretary role will be rotated between the members.

The Federation Youth Council is a consultative committee of the Federation Council that aims to provide a forum for young people to express their views on important issues affecting young people in the Federation Council, promote and encourage the involvement of youth in the planning, development and implementation of activities associated directly or indirectly with young people and involve young people in local government decision making process.

Youth Councillors will be provided with professional development opportunities that will strengthen communication skills, develop knowledge in advocacy and governance and increase confidence in teamwork and leadership skills. Youth Councillors will be mentored by Council staff and provided with hands on experience in running meetings, public speaking, event management and marketing.

Following the meeting Mayor Pat Bourke, Councillor Gail Law, Interim General Manager Adrian Butler, Director Peter Gall and their partners joined Youth Council Facilitator, Amber Harvey, the newly elected Youth Councillors and their families for a welcome dinner at the Corowa RSL Club.

Mayor Bourke congratulated the Youth Councillors and said he hoped that the Youth Council would be a great learning opportunity for the young leaders and assist them in their future careers.

“The Youth Council will provide an opportunity for young people in the area to express their views on local community matters that directly relate to them,’’ he said.

“It will help ensure young people feel more connected to where they live and to be involved in the planning and delivery of youth-related decisions made by Council.’’

There is still opportunity to become a Federation Youth Councillor for 2018/2019. Anyone that is interested should contact Amber Harvey, Federation Youth Council Facilitator on 02 6033 8974 or email amber.harvey@federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au.