Young Leaders’ Council

BY LACHLAN MCDONALD

The 2021 Young Leaders’ Council (YLC) continued with its goal of connecting and upskilling year 12 leaders while showcasing various aspects of university life, with students from over 20 schools participating in the program.

Coming off a COVID-interrupted 2020 where YLC was run online, this year I have worked with the UWA School Partnerships and Programs team to run events back in the original in-person format of 2019. Having formerly worked with another UWA department and given the disruption from the previous year, the start of the 2021 marked an almost complete rebuild of YLC from the ground up.

The first event in June possessed a broad theme of “Innovation and Future Leadership,” headlined by representatives from Guild Venture and UWA Grand Challenges. Chloe Bull and the Venture team delivered a design thinking workshop focused on applying an innovative mindset to key issues affecting high school students. Grand Challenges Project Manager Chris Kemp and several ‘Champion’ researchers presented on and discussed with students how they are using research to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the world.

The second event in July had a theme of “Wellbeing” and featured a presentation on ‘Wellbeing Initiatives in Schools’ from Guild Welfare President Amitabh Jeganathan. A physical wellbeing workshop was also run by Thomas Cotter and the Guild Sports Department. YLC participants were also invited to attend the Guild Student Leadership Summit hosted by Venture, which served as a final event before the end of the year. Other workshop topics covered across the sessions included global issues, networking, teamwork, student leadership structures and forum discussions.

This year there has been a focus on building relationships with schools to ensure the future longevity of the program. Dates are currently being finalised for three YLC events next year, and there is a pending agreement with the UWA School Engagement team to ensure the longevity of the program beyond 2022.

YLC would not have been possible this year without the effort of the UWA School Partnerships and Programs team, who handled school outreach and registration logistics as well as providing financial support. Many thanks are also extended to the YLC Committee for helping organise and facilitate our events in 2021.