By Mario Xuereb
BRIMBANK’S young people are about to get a personal newsletter.
Council has agreed to support an addition to its regular newsletter – a youth newspaper that highlights events around the municipality, and how readers can get involved.
A group of teenagers from Brimbank schools and colleges will run the as-yet unnamed paper.
Overnewton Secondary College student Marissa Buttigieg said she was keen to write for the newsletter.
She said the idea came out of discussions with Brimbank mayor Natalie Suleyman.
“We had the youth forum, and then we discussed the fact that in Brimbank youths have no idea, in terms of events, what was going on.
“We came up with the idea for a newspaper, and offered to help out with it.”
Marissa and the editorial team – comprising about six students – plan to release the first edition this year.
It will include news on youth events, forums and profiles of young Brimbank residents.
The group is also organising a competition to find a name for the newsletter.
Cr Suleyman said the product would help close a gap in council’s communication with young people in the city.
“It was a surprise to me when, at the youth forum, they said they didn’t know what was happening in council, but I had already an idea,” she said.
“That’s why I instigated the youth round table – to find a way to better channel council’s resources when it comes to communication with young people. The newsletter is the mechanism to do that.”
Cr Suleyman was impressed so far with the young editorial team’s efforts.
“They’re willing to take on the roles of journalists and editors, and I’m confident it’s going to be very successful.”
The youth newsletter will be distributed to 55,000 homes across Brimbank and published on the council’s website.
