YOUTH COUNCIL

The Youth Council is made up of 12 young people aged between 12 and 17 years old, with three representatives from each of the four council wards.

In previous years, the Youth Council have prioritised mental health & wellbeing, environment & sustainability and safe & accessible communities.

The Introduction of a Youth Council was one of the recommendations of the Citizens’ Jury in January 2017, and was endorsed by the state government.

Role of Youth Council

As a Youth Council, each member will:

• provide an opportunity for the voice of Geelong’s youth to be considered in the decision-making of the Council
• provide advice to the Council on specific issues
• attend and participate in monthly Youth Council meetings with the support of our Youth Development team
• attend Councillor Connect Mentor Program sessions with councillors and the Youth Development team and
• attend and be part of local community events.

Nominating for 2022 Youth Council

Instructions

1. Read through the eligibility criteria – as a Youth Council member you will be representing one of the Greater Geelong City Council electoral wards:
   • Brownbill
   • Bellarine
   • Kardinia or
   • Windermere.
2. Check your address in the map to see if you live in one of the four Council electoral wards and are eligible to nominate.
3. Sit down with your parent or guardian to submit your nomination.
4. Wait to hear from us in December 2021.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

• live in the Greater Geelong City Council local government area
• aged between 12 and 17 years at the time of nomination
• be able to attend 80 percent of monthly meetings
• be able to participate in the Youth Council induction in mid-late January 2022
• submit your own nomination and
• submit parent or guardian consent to participate at the time of nominating.

Nominations

Nominations have now closed and the new Youth Council will be announced soon.

Junior Mayor and Junior Deputy Mayor

Once elected, 2022 Youth Council members can nominate themselves to become the Junior Mayor or Deputy Junior Mayor, by presenting a short speech at their induction.

With the support of the Youth Development team, the role of the Junior Mayor is to:

• chair the monthly Youth Council meetings
• act as the spokesperson for the Youth Council, speaking at media opportunities and community events
• prepare Youth Council’s four reports to Council across the year and present the reports in the Council Chambers during Council meetings, on behalf of Youth Council

The Deputy Junior Mayor supports the Junior Mayor in these tasks and may also take on some of these responsibilities at busy times throughout the year.

Strengths like organisation, confidence in communicating and always looking to develop leadership skills are all important for the role. All 2022 Youth Council members will be encouraged to apply, and the group will vote on their 2022 leaders at next year’s induction.

Voting process

All nominations will be assessed by the Youth Development Unit and members of Youth Advisory Groups across the Local Government Area.

Voting will be ward-based. A Youth Advisory Group member can only vote for nominees for the ward that a Youth Advisory Group member resides in.

One vote per member of the Youth Advisory Groups.

The City will circulate voting forms to registered members of the Youth Advisory Groups.

Votes must be received by 5:00pm on the last day of voting nominated by the City.

Voting will be counted by Council staff and successful nominees will be contacted in December 2021.

Need to know more…

For more information or support please contact our Youth Civic Participation Officer by email at youthcouncil@geelongcity.vic.gov.au or by phone on 0428 001 615 or DM us on Instagram

Related documents

• Youth Council meetings and reports