2019 School Magazine

Community

LORD MAYOR’S YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL

T he Lord Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (LMYAC) is a Brisbane City Council initiative that seeks to give Brisbane youth the opportunity to discuss relevant issues and help plan the future of Brisbane. Year 10 students from a number of schools participate in the program. In the past, Sophie Watkins (12R) and Selena Song (10E) have participated in the program, which consists of termly meetings chaired by Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner. As part of the program, students were introduced to Brisbane’s vision for 2031, which includes eight key goals. Students then voted on which goal they thought was most important and this goal became the 2019 LMYAC theme. Throughout the year, we brainstormed initiatives in groups and prepared a pitch around the theme. My group’s concept involved local musicians performing on Brisbane City Cats. Other ideas which emerged from brainstorming included supplying phone chargers on council buses and free Brisbane art workshops. Aside from termly meetings, students can participate in events such as the 100+ Morning Tea, Brisbane Youth Week, National Flag Day, Young Leaders Day, Homeless Connect and workshops centred on mental health and leadership. Abbey Grice (11E)

DIVERSITY DAY

I n Term 3, the Uralla Club hosted their annual Diversity Day forum, a student-led discussion panel which aims to highlight and celebrate diversity in the School and broader community. This year’s theme was ‘Connections’. Lua Jarrah (11B) and I moderated the Forum, which included former Principal of Milpera State High School and Chair of Friends of the Home of Expressive Arts of Learning (FHEAL), Ms Adele Rice, representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at The University of Queensland, Professor Tracey Bunda

ethnic groups, the Forum was insightful and thought provoking. Each panellist stressed the power of language in building connections and making authentic, meaningful and respectful relationships. Be it through the curriculum and/or through community engagement, this requires not just the desire to do so, but the willingness to listen ‘deeply’, to learn and ‘unlearn’ what we think we ‘know’. The School is grateful for the wisdom and depth of experience shared with students and staff. Claire Fidler (12R )

and Ms Emma Olssen, and Counsellor and Community Educator, Ms Sara Pane, from ZigZag Young Women’s Resource Centre. Panellists shared their experience of, and insights into, what they believe it means to embrace and accept diversity. They also discussed the undercurrent of apathy and disconnect of society in terms of the nature of, and reactions to, national and global issue of significance, including global refugee crises and islamophobia. With discussions about the impact of institutionalised racism, monoculturalism and mythologies perpetuated by the media about particular

044 | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2019