Young people wanted to lead city

An exciting opportunity awaits young people wishing to join the city's youth council, with 2026 nominations open until Monday, 10 November. This is a unique opportunity for young people in the Rural City of Wangaratta to help shape the future of the region. Up to eight local 14–18 year old students make up the youth council each year and they meet regularly to discuss youth issues, participate in workshops and training, and engage in self-development activities. Members are appointed to one-year terms from January to December. Current members of the council, Cathedral College year 8 students Ed Browne and Lucy Wilkinson spoke favourably of their experience as youth councillors. "It's a really good opportunity to work with council to help support young people in our community," Ed said. "We've developed skills and been able to work with our councillors and put on some really important events such as the recent sport and rec fest, and we've supported other events like the Grit and Resilience Festival." The youth council has a strong reputation of being a vehicle to engage young community members and it's also a social outlet for young people to talk about common interests and issues affecting local people. Lucy has loved her time on youth council over the last three years as it's opened her mind to a whole range of topics she might not have otherwise been introduced to. "I get to talk to councillors and we do our reports for them and it's really nice because everyone is open and we can all share our opinions," she said. "The sport and rec fest is important because sporting communities become more like a family and friendships are fostered. "Being active is also rewarding for people and the recent festival allowed the community to see the wide range of sports and clubs we have locally." Galen College student Harrison Allen is also in his third year and he was part of the team to launch a program that will give people real life skills. "We successfully launched a financial literacy program at the high school to teach year 11s about taxes, tax returns, mortgages, interest rates and finding the best loans," he said. Harrison urged anyone wanting to make a difference to nominate for youth council because members "do have an impact in the community". "It is often invisible or not very well known, but you do have an impact, you do get a message out there and there's freedom to choose what you think is important," he said. Download at 2026 nomination form at wangaratta.vic.gov.au/Community/Youth/Youth-Council

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