Engaging the younger generation as a local elected person on the Sunshine Coast

I moved to the Sunshine Coast in the 70s when I was in my mid-20s. I was inspired by the community of young people that were finding a home here...back to the landers, US draft resisters, refugees from the big city life. Land was relatively cheap, there were jobs that I was qualified for, you could build your own house with fewer constraints and if you saw a gap in community life, there were likely other friends who would get behind creating whatever was necessary...start a band or a theatre group, get a grant and build an arts centre, start a newspaper, teach each other the skills we needed to survive on the land. Life was simple but pretty rich.

It is different now. Property is beyond the reach of many young people, there are few places to rent, building requirements have made building a home more complicated and costly and many people have to work long hours to make ends meet so there is less time for "making it happen."

For local elected people to know what we can do to recreate an environment of possibility for young people on the Coast we need to reach out. We need to go where young people are whether physically or virtually. I am excited by the formation of Voice on the Coast because it provides an avenue for communication and a nucleus that young people can coalesce around. I am excited to learn more about the vehicle of social media...a challenge for people in my age group but as I learn more about it and use it more I am seeing the incredible power it has! So one of the most important things we need to do to engage young people is use internet tools more effectively and remain current with the changes and adaptations to those tools as they happen.

We also need to go physically to where young people gather if we want to find out what young people are thinking. Having an open mind and an open ear so we are really listening to what young people need and want is way better than a parental attitude of deciding for youth what is good for them. If we want to talk to young people we need to provide child care and child friendly events, we need to be in the schools and on the playing fields, in the cafes, in the recreation centres.

Some ways that elected people can help include addressing the issue of affordable housing more effectively and creatively, changing the way we encourage our economy so that there are enough well paying , interesting jobs to attract and sustain the younger demographic, fostering arts and culture development, continuing to improve our recreational programs and facilities both indoor and outdoor, encouraging the development of post secondary educational opportunities.

To be successful, this needs to be a partnership. Thank you to Voice on the Coast for creating that opportunity!