The conference titled Fairground, held at the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle, addressed the notion of a fair and equitable playing field for young people to more than 300 youth sector workers and young people from across WA .

The three project representatives Jessica Aspinall, Malcolm Farrell-Mitchell and Nicole Foxton presented, with Project Consultant Jude Bridgeland-Sorenson, to a room packed with conference delegates about the groundbreaking project which has been undertaken by the City of Melville which aims to involve young people in the decision-making process around the future of youth development within the City.

Consultant Jude Bridgeland-Sorenson said the project was ground-breaking. “The research team is not only being trained to be young researchers but they are getting the opportunity to have their work accredited through TAFE as a Certificate II in Research,” she said. “The team is also helping to shape the future for youth in the City of Melville,” she said.

The group presented an interactive session which had the conference attendees taking part in games of Chinese whispers and role-playing to get the delegates involved in the presentation.

Presenter Nicole Foxton, who is also the Chairperson of the Melville YAC, said the YACWA conference was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience to attend and to present at. “It was great to be able to present our ideas to an audience of people who, like us, are passionate about young people,” she said. “It was very encouraging to have people approach us with questions, ideas and suggestions following our presentation. Overall the conference was a great event and there were many other inspiring and informative speakers.”

Once the Youth Consultation Project is complete the findings will be delivered to the City as a forward planning Directions for Youth document which will help guide future of Youth Development in the City of Melville.