Maria Ansari, 15, and Zoe Goldenberg, 17, recently spent the day with Brimbank Mayor, Cr Virginia Tachos as part of Council’s new Young Mayor for the Day program. Here is what they learned from the experience.
By Maria Ansari and Zoe Goldberg
A
s members of Brimbank Youth Council, we both jumped at the opportunity to spend the day with the Mayor. We were keen to learn about leadership and local government first-hand, meet inspiring people, and understand how young people can help shape the future of Melbourne’s west.
Little did we know, we’d do much more than just listen and observe – we would also have the chance to contribute.
Our day began at a strategic forum in the CBD about the future of Melbourne’s west. As we sat at a round table discussion with government and industry leaders, we were surprised at how interested they were in what we had to say.
As the only young people in the room, we were encouraged to share our perspectives and ideas with the whole group. It was really encouraging to see that having us there made them want to include more young people in future discussions.
Next, it was off to Parliament House for something very exciting – a meeting with Victorian Premier Ben Carroll! We hadn’t imagined that shadowing our local mayor would also give us the chance to meet him.
After a selfie we toured the building, explored the parliamentary library and watched question time. Having studied the workings of government at school it was interesting to see what actually happens beyond our textbooks.
In the afternoon we finally found ourselves in Brimbank, at the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine for a tour with Blake, the CEO of Youth Junction.
We learned that Visy Cares is Australia’s largest integrated youth hub. Seeing so many services working together under one roof helped us understand why this approach matters. Young people may need support with multiple parts of their lives at once, and knowing where to begin can be difficult. Having an inclusive place to access that support made us really proud of our community.
Next, we found ourselves in Council Chambers where the Transforming Brimbank team took us through plans for the area, including the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the Sunshine Superhub and the vision for Sunshine to become the CBD of the west.
We were especially excited by the plans for more open spaces and the possibilities for arts and creativity. We imagined places where young people could spend time together, share what they create and take part in local events.
Finally, the day ended with a small ceremony where we both gave a speech reflecting on the day and took photos in mayoral robes and chains with our families.
We believe young people deserve to have their voices heard. The decisions made by local councils and the Victorian Government affect our everyday lives, particularly when it comes to education, transport, mental health, and future opportunities.
We were excited to become a part of these conversations for a day to learn about how these decisions are made and how we can contribute to positive change in our community.
As two young women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, being invited into these spaces meant a lot to us. It felt empowering to be trusted to contribute and made us realise we could get involved without waiting until we were “old enough” or knew everything.
Throughout the day Brimbank Mayor, Cr Virginia Tachos was encouraging and engaging and she happily answered all of our questions. She shared how her own community involvement began through volunteering and encouraged us to keep participating locally. Hearing about how she started was inspiring because it helped us imagine where our own involvement could lead.
We left feeling grateful and hopeful. Melbourne’s west has such a bright future, and we believe that young people should take a leadership role in shaping it.
