making a difference

Moreland Youth Movement

Kosta Vassilacopoulos

VCAL Captain

As reported in previous newsletters, Year 12 VCAL students have been participating in The Moreland Youth Movement Project. This Moreland City Council and Merri Health initiative funds youth led action on an issue of concern to young people. 

After deciding to work on the issue of racism, on Wednesday April 19 our class had the opportunity to pitch our ideas to representatives of Merri Health and Oxygen, the MCC’s Youth Advisory Committee. We made two presentations.

The first pitch proposes to involve BSC students in developing a mural as a visual reminder of the importance of inclusion for our diverse community. The idea is to paint a world map on one of our school walls and invite students to mark their country of origin/location that they identify with. 

The second proposal is draw attention to the emotional harm of racism. The plan is to visit primary school children to present them with a role play activity.

It was great to see all students taking part in the presentations, especially since funding for the Moreland Youth Movement is all about giving young people the chance to work together on the issues they identify as important. We got some very helpful feedback from our audience, which also included our teachers and school principal. This process has helped us to refine our original ideas and think about how to implement them. We are all looking forward to going ahead with these projects!

Jonathan Papaconstaninou

Year 12

Having the opportunity to present at pitch night was an awesome experience for the VCAL class. I felt that the class exceeded their expectations of the event.

Justin Hardingham

Year 12

The feedback that we received from Oxygen was very beneficial. We will be sure to take it on board and implement it going forward. We are really appreciative for this opportunity to meet our required literacy outcomes and refine our public speaking skills.

Chris Kotsaboukis

Year 12

I really enjoyed compiling the information for the powerpoint presentation for my group.

Rabin Bhandari

Year 12

It has been an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with Merri Health and Moreland City Council’s Oxygen Committee. Our class has made connections with numerous stakeholders since commencing this project.