Twenty-three community-led projects have been awarded a total of $208,000 to tackle the real, and at times confronting issues, faced by young Australians living in rural, regional and remote areas of the country. Funded through the FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grants program, these grants will bring to life ideas developed at the Heywire Youth Ideas lab.
These projects will tackle a range of issues such as discrimination, youth-led peer support, multigenerational connection, mental health and career opportunities for young people.
These grants will mean that community organisations and local not-for-profits can implement community-led initiatives that will have a lasting impact.
Managing Director of the ABC, David Anderson, said Heywire and the Youth Innovation Grants were an important part of the ABC’s continuing investment in regional Australia. “The ABC has just announced a boost to our regional services through our deal with Google and also one with Facebook which we are finalising now. Congratulations to everyone involved in this program and to all the grant recipients: your projects will bring positive changes to many lives in regional, rural and remote communities across Australia.”
The twenty-five projects will support young people in rural communities throughout Australia, ranging from as far north as Nganmarriyanga, an Indigenous community in the Northern Territory, with a population of 343, and Derby in Western Australia, to Coombabah in Queensland, Broken Hill in New South Wales, South Augusta in South Australia and as south as Beaconsfield in the North-East of Tasmania.
To date, through $1.2 million in community and philanthropic investment, the FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grants have helped to implement around 100 youth-developed projects in more than 160 communities.
Some of the 23 projects being funded are:
• CareSouth Deniliquin – Deniliquin, NSW. Received $5,080 to develop the Support Squad idea by creating a youth peer support network that will run an art therapy mentoring program.
• Nganmarriyanga School Council Incorporated – Nganmarriyanga, NT. Received $10,000 to develop the Open Field Fest idea by developing students’ creative skills with song writing workshops that showcase community, culture and language.
• Heal.ed Tribe – Coombabah, QLD. Received $5,400 to develop the Contribute to the Change idea by Supporting young women with a lived experience of an eating disorder to share their story and reduce the stigma surrounding it.
• Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Association – Port Augusta, SA. Received $10,000 to develop the Open Field Fest idea by growing the number of young First Nations artists participating in music festivals in Port Augusta through a skills development program.
• Beacon Foundation – Hobart, TAS. Received $9,640 to develop the Discover your Future idea by encouraging secondary school students to adopt an entrepreneur mindset with a program to imagine, design and develop new businesses and products.
• Youth Live 4 Life – Maryborough, VIC. Received $10,000 to develop the Contribute to the Change idea by developing a network of youth who are trained in mental health first aid and knowledgeable about the support services available to them.
• Derby District High School – Derby, WA. Received $10,000 to develop the Discover your Future idea by developing youth skills in horsemanship to broaden their career aspirations and provide a pathway into the pastoral industry.
A full list of the projects funded can be found on the ABC Heywire website.