By Derek Schlennstedt
Mount Evelyn Christian College was one of four schools that on 23 August were recognised for their ROAR project.
The ROAR program was launched in 2012 by Yarra Ranges Council and focuses on equipping Year 10 students with a broad range of leadership capabilities.
The awards night saw the launch of a short documentary produced by one of the groups, in collaboration with Headspace, which addressed mental health in young people.
Through the program, young people are provided with opportunities to upskill, engage in personal development and connect with their communities, thus empowering them to become competent and active leaders.
“ROAR leadership is a Year 10 leadership capacity program which is about building community connection, event planning, personal leadership growth and public speaking,” Graeme Mawson, Coordinator of Youth Development at Yarra Ranges Council said.
“It’s about empowering the young people to lead youth led initiatives in their local community.”
Healesville and Lilydale High School were also among the schools involved including Yarra Hills College.
All had different projects and Healesville High School engaged in an environmental project planting trees at Coronation Park.
For its project, Mount Evelyn Christian College highlighted the cultural diversity and the experience of refugees from Myanmar.
This involved translating signs around the school into Hakachin – the native language of people from Myanmar.
The awards night recognised students’ projects and Graeme said it was the first time that students were presented with a youth pass – a recognition tool for non-formal and informal learning in youth projects.
“It was a celebration for families to see what projects their children had been involved in and it was also about recognising the projects that the students had been involved with,” Graeme said.
Despite five successful years of Yarra Ranges Council delivering the ROAR program across nine local secondary schools, the program is set to come to an end at the end of the year.
