Mental health was at the forefront of conversation as Goulburn hosted the NSW Youth Council Conference on February 18-20.
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The annual event travels across the state and welcomes young people aged 12-24 who are members of a youth council or youth advisory group for a Local Government Council, Non-Government Organisations, Peak Government body or High School.
After originally being postponed in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, Goulburn opened its arms to hold the three-day event with the much-anticipated Vibesfest community event taking place on the Saturday evening.
Councillor Carol James said it was impressive to watch tomorrow's leaders passionately advocating for their local communities.
"There were certainly plenty of confident and focused young people there," she told the Post.
"They want to do the best for their communities, that's what it's all about really. It has to be young people interested in their communities and future.
"There were young people from all over the state, some even travelled eight hours to get here from places like Cobar. We had a few Sydney councils represented but most members were from regional NSW and hadn't been to a youth conference before so it was a big deal."
Ms James said mental health and resilience was a hot topic over the three days although there were plenty of lighter activities to break up the seriousness.
"There was a lot of discussion about mental health and getting access to services," she explained.
"But the main outcome I think was about how to live a sustainable life. How to live a better life with all the restrictions of social media and expectations placed on young people today.
"It was really good, the kids made a lot of friendships. It was a busy weekend full of activities. They did laughing yoga and other fun things like making friendship bracelets.
"Those fun activities broke up the discussion about making change and how to bring those lessons back to their communities."
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