Year 10 St John Fisher College student, Sofia
Velkos, has more on her mind than holidays as she prepares for a big pitch to the
Lord Mayor’s Council on 4th December. Early this year, Sofia was one of 80 Brisbane
Year 10 students selected to sit on the Lord Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council
(LMYAC).
Students meet with the Lord Mayor once a term, to act as a voice for
Brisbane’s youth, identifying issues, providing feedback and their opinion on
Brisbane City Council policies, local laws, services and programs that affect
young people.
Sofia and a team of 10 LMYAC students, including Oliver Horwood of St
Joseph’s Nudgee College and Thomas Darben from St Patrick’s College,
have come up with the idea of increasing Brisbane’s creativity and vibrancy
through the utilisation of a mobile ‘Pop-Up’ van.
Sofia says the plan is for the van to travel to
identified areas within Queensland, enabling children and young teens to
participate in drawing, painting and other forms of art, using supplies they
may not have previously had access to.
“Our aim is to increase the sense of community and
inclusivity within Brisbane through art”, explains Sofia.
St Joseph’s Nudgee College student, Oliver Horwood
said the idea came from a project the Council currently fund called, Visible
Ink in Fortitude Valley which is a free art space with art supplies and
resources.
“We’ve been there for meetings and seen people using it,
but we felt like more people would use it if they knew about it. And so, came the
idea of setting up the mobile art space we proposed to Council,” said
Oliver.
Sofia and one
other student will pitch the mobile pop-up van idea, on behalf of 80 students
on 4th December and is excited at the prospect of the idea coming to
fruition.
“It feels amazing to know that extremely important
people like the Honourable Lord Mayor Graham Quirk are asking the youth and
future generation of Brisbane for their opinion on current issues that are
prevalent within society,” says Sofia.
Sofia says discussions have been raised surrounding
the vibrancy and creativity of the city, as well as its environmental
friendliness. Methods of improving transport, technology, business, the economy,
and lastly health, within the Brisbane region have also been major touch
points.
“It’s
honestly so rewarding to be a part of the LMYAC group as we provide a voice for
the issues and problems that we as individuals and as society, are currently
facing. Knowing that these issues can be fixed and changed for the better
through the help and assistance of the Brisbane City Council is a real thrill,”
Sofia says.
