The only Young Mayors program in NSW, Wollongong Youth Forum began its second term with an affirmation ceremony attended by the city's leaders and future leaders last Thursday. 

In a proud moment for his supporters, Ethan Zappelli – a Year 12 student who has risen from adversity to become an advocate for homeless young people – stepped up to speak on behalf of his peers at Council's Chambers.

“Last October, we had many passionate young people campaigning for a spot on the forum, and more than 1600 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 voted, passing their ballots from all across the Illawarra,” Ethan said.

“It was a great moment for the young community.”

Twelve students have been democratically elected to be the voice of local youth as part of the Young Mayors program, run by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) in partnership with Wollongong City Council. They are: Jayden Atherton, Fatima Al Taleb, Charlie Dwyer, Zelda Goodsell, Ali Hadi, Stevie Hopkinson, Alyssa Jeffries, Sean McPherson, Avalon Mooney, Larissa Murray-Allen, Mariam Sawan and Ethan Zappelli.

“Over the next nine months we're determined to tackle some of the most critical issues that impact young people in our community,” Ethan said.

Their five key issues are: community access, education, environment, health and youth safety. 

“These are the pillars that will guide our work, and we are incredibly excited about the impact that we can make in these areas,” Ethan said.

Welcome to future leaders

For ages 12 to 17, the Wollongong Youth Forum gives young people not only a voice, but a platform and a $10,000 budget supplied by the Foundation for Young Australians to put their ideas into practice. Our local forum is in its second year, one of five Young Mayors programs in Australia and part of a global movement to empower young decision makers.

Opening the ceremony, Deputy Lord Mayor Linda Campbell welcomed about 40 family, friends and supporters, including Young Mayors Program Manager NSW Irene Banda, Wollongong Program Assistant Tara Broso, WCC General Manager Greg Doyle and Cr Dan Hayes. The Deputy Mayor made special mention of Narelle Clay AM, CEO of Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS), who attended the event to support Ethan. 

“Narelle has to be one of the strongest advocates the Illawarra has ever known when it comes to provision of services for young people,” Cr Campbell said. 

Empowered by experience

Last year, Ethan told the Flame that his experience of temporary housing was why he stood for election. 

“For the better part of a year my family of 10 and I have been unfortunate enough to be placed in temporary housing,” Ethan said at the time. “I am blessed enough to have an incredibly supportive family, but during this time I have met many people, young and old, who are in similar situations who have had little support. But local support workers and even my school’s wellbeing staff have shown me how significant even a quality-of-life change can be for people in these situations.”

After the formalities on Thursday, Ethan said he was feeling “pretty good”.

“It’s been a while waiting for this and it's a bit of a nail-biter, because it's such a powerful event – you've got everyone coming to see you, it’s an important site, council chambers, which I guess a lot of people don’t even know what it looks like,” Ethan said.

“I think I was nervous … up until I got up and I actually shook hands with the Deputy Mayor.”

Ethan invited the teachers who encouraged him to run for the forum to attend the ceremony. 

“I go to Five Islands Secondary College in Port Kembla, a very alternative school,” he said. “We don't have uniforms and we go four days a week, for slightly longer [days]. It's a school with a very interesting culture, just because of how we run things and how different it is to traditional schools. 

“In the last two years or so, going to Five Islands, I've made monumental progress. It really can't be stated how massive the difference that Five Islands has sort of made for me in the last two years.”

Ethan was glad to have SYFS CEO Narelle Clay in the audience. “Because her work is above all else the reason why I'm here today. Because of my personal circumstances, I'm an independent young youth, so I live in Southern Youth Family Services accommodation. 

“They've been wonderful.”

As an advocate for young people at a disadvantage, Ethan is passionate about promoting social equality and recently did an interview about youth homelessness with WIN News. 

He’d like to use his time on the forum to help restore faith in government. 

“It’s very common for a young person to look at this type of stuff and brush it off as something that is irrelevant to them because they don't feel their vote is powerful or they don't understand how these systems work. 

“I want people to at least have a little bit more faith that these places have their best interests in mind.”

Nine months to make a difference

The 12-strong forum has nominated Ethan and The Illawarra Grammar School (TIGS) deputy head prefect  Alyssa Jeffries as the two members to take on extra responsibilities, such as speaking to the media. One of their joint first tasks will be to help organise events for Youth Week in April.

Each young person had their moment in the spotlight, committing to upholding the values of equity and inclusivity, and receiving a certificate from the Deputy Lord Mayor.

Cr Campbell told the forum that diversity was the city’s strength, with many views and voices in our community. 

“As Youth Forum members, your challenge is going to be to consider how you accurately represent those views while you build trust with people through your engagement. People like you who are committed to public service can help build confidence in public decisions.”

Greg Doyle also addressed the new forum, saying he was eager to have their input in developing the city’s new community strategic plan. 

“We are super stoked that you have put yourselves forward here,” Council's GM said. “We're really interested in what you think. We are really interested in what you individually believe we should be doing.”

Ethan’s speech ended the afternoon. He wrapped up by congratulating his peers, who “may very well be the future innovators, leaders, and change-makers of the Wollongong community". 

“You've all taken on this great responsibility with some of you balancing it alongside the HSC studies. Your commitment, passion and determination to make a difference is truly inspiring, and I'm looking forward to see what we can achieve together.”

For more information about the Wollongong Youth Forum, visit the FYA website