Youth Leadership Conference
Youth Leadership Academy Australia
Dream & Lead Conference 2025
We went on an awesome excursion, on the train, into the city. We then walked to the Convention Centre. We learnt a lot about how to be a good leader, promoting equality throughout the community and how to be confident when speaking in front of people.
Ari
The event that happened yesterday was a once in a lifetime experience! Why?
I had to write a paper on leadership to get selected to go. The conference was more than leadership, it was like a rock concert. It was about leadership, how to stand-up, and one of the best things I could ever have experienced. I was so thankful for being one of the 10 chosen to go.
Boadie
On Wednesday, 10 of our leadership students went to a leadership conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre. I learnt a lot of new things such as the ‘G.O.T.’ strategy for when you might be in a situation, and you want to help. GOT stands for:
G = Growing (pause and consider)
O = opening (listen and support)
T = Trust (be consistent)
We also learnt about the triple A’s. They stand for Accept, Acknowledge and Ask.
We learnt about body language, connection to breath, planning your words and tone, to have in our toolbox for public speaking.
Kim
Yesterday, I experienced a wonderful day! 10 of us went to a leadership conference in the city. The hosts, Liam and Bonnie, explained to us that leadership isn’t just a badge and that anyone can do it. We had two keynote speakers talk to us. Each of their stories was inspiring.
Vishwak
On Wednesday 26th of March, me and 9 others had the pleasure of attending the Dream and Lead Conference 2025. We had to take the train into the city, which was pretty busy. When we went into the convention centre, it was huge, and filled with other schools, chatting and laughing together. When the conference opened, they gave us some strategies like the triple A’s (like the battery) and the G.O.T.. I am looking forward to using these strategies in the future.
Aria
The conference at the Exhibition Centre was good. It gave me tips on how to make our school a better place. It told us how we can step up and solve problems when we see disrespectful behaviour, especially racism, insults or bullying. As a leader I will show my peers our school values during classroom time and all other places.
Zain
“We don’t need perfect leaders; we need everyday people like us”. That was one of the beautiful quotes that I learnt at the leadership conference on Wednesday 26th March. The quote really inspired me because the message was that leaders aren’t perfect, and everyone can be a leader even if they’ve made mistakes before. It’s not just a certain type of person who can be a leader, we all can.
It was an amazing experience. There was lots of music and lots of partner work too. My favourite thing was a networking bingo and one of the things we had to do was have a dance battle with someone from another school! (I’m pretty sure I won). I loved going there and it was so much better than learning about percentages!
Shona
Going to the Convention Centre was a great experience! It was fun, but it still taught us a lesson. It was really a lot of fun. There were some really nice people there. We got to be very interactive with other schools, which was great. It was an experience you can’t beat! Hopefully, I can do it again!
John
Hi! My name is Eli and I’m here to tell you about the phenomenal journey that Me and 9 other students have had!
On Wednesday the 26th of March, the 10 of us went on a trip to the Dream & Lead Conference. The activities were groovy dance breaks, connecting time and lots of other helpful leadership skills that we can use at school.
We had a fun time and made new friends!
We learnt about the G.O.T. and Triple A strategies. The hosts that taught us were Liam and Bonnie, and we were given a booklet to help us take notes.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms Scott and another helpful friend, Ms Fiona, for helping us get through the day! We had an enjoyable time, and I hope to go there again!
Eli
Elizabeth’s reflection is in the School Captain section.
