Newly announced funding will aim to help the Illawarra’s youth to develop life skills and increase participation in the community.
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The Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and Strategic Community Assistance to Refugee Families (SCARF) are the beneficiaries of the $85,700 funding.
The funding is from the state government’s Youth Opportunities grants program.
On Tuesday, Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward announced that the Illawarra projects to receive funding include $50,000 for the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council’s Illawarra Aboriginal Youth Advisory Council initiative.
The development of the Youth Advisory Council will aim to provide Aboriginal youth a platform to be heard and opportunities to practice leadership.
The other recipient is $35,700 for SCARF’s ‘Let’s Lead’ initiative for culturally diverse young people.
The project will seek to offer opportunities for personal development, cross-cultural learning and community engagement in an environment that values diversity and acknowledges their lived experience.
Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Paul Knight said the funding would help them engage with the next generation of leaders within the community.
“With 60 per cent of the Aboriginal population in the area being under 25, this is really an area that we need be focusing on and making a difference in,” he said.
“This is the next generation. This is the generation that will have the opportunities to make a significant change, and if we can bring them in early enough to set the direction, they’re going to have a significant benefit in the future from this.”
Mr Knight said the youth initiative would incorporate both workshops and practical implementation of leadership.
“The endgame for this is really that we establish a council that’s ongoing beyond the funding, that it becomes integral in the operations of the Land Council," he said.
Mr Ward said this grants program aims to assist young people to develop life skills and increase participation in the community.
“I am proud to support these two grass-roots projects that will build confidence in local youth, provide training and benefit the Wollongong community,” he said.
