The Baw Baw Live4Life Crew got together this afternoon to plan for the rest of this year and discuss how they would implement further health and wellbeing activities into their schools and throughout the community.
The All Crew meeting took place at the West Gippsland Arts Centre, where the buzz could be felt as changemaking conversations took place throughout the day.
Earlier this year, the Live4Life Crew set a theme of Connect to Protect, which also led the way for some of the discussions at today's get together.
More than 40 young people from eight secondary schools in the Shire make up the 2024 Live4Life Crew, meaning these students are local mental health ambassadors and advocates on behalf of other young people in the region, and especially for their schools.
The All Crew get together today marked an important milestone in the 2024 calendar, as they discussed their Mental Health Awareness Activities for the remainder of the year as well as how they would spread the word and recruit for 2025.
Kano Ravalji from Third Culture Australia also attended the planning day to speak with the local students about amplifying their voice, storytelling for change and perfecting their presentation.
Third Culture Australia is a youth-led not-for-profit organisation that aims to empower young people, create positive change and celebrate diversity.
Live4Life is a health promotion charity, using the Live4Life model to support rural and regional communities and their young people. Live4Life delivers evidence-based mental health education in schools and the wider community and helps create local partnerships to lead conversations about mental health.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor Cr Annemarie McCabe said that today's event helped to foster important conversations among our young people and that was proud that Council partnered with this valuable organisation.
"We are a proud supporter of Live4Life and I can't stress enough how important it is that we educate and support our young people to learn about mental health, and teach and demonstrate to them how they can support someone who is experiencing poor mental health," Cr McCabe said.
Stay tuned to Council's social media channels later this year to find out how you could be involved in the local chapter of Live4Life.
