By Kyra Gillespie
Young minds were put to work at Cardinia’s inaugural Student Leaders Conference on Wednesday 12 September.
Held at the Pakenham Library, the day involved group activities tackling topics such as what the kids liked about their community, what would make their community better, and what it takes to become a great leader.
Special guest speaker, Mehdi Ahmadi shared his experiences as School Captain for Pakenham Secondary College, growing up as one of 10 children in his family, and adjusting to life in Australia as an Afghan refugee who emigrated in 2015.
The event also included some school presentations about what the ‘student voice’ is and the importance of empowering children both at school and within their community, and for the institutions with whom they interact, such as council, local community groups and organisations.
“Today Cr Leticia Wilmot and I attended Cardinia Shire Council’s first ever Young Leaders Conference,” Councillor Michael Schilling said.
“It was great to see these 100 young people sharing their ideas and vision for our local community.
“Congratulations to Mehdi Ahmadi on a fantastic speech and presentation. Mehdi’s experiences have bestowed him with incredible insight into what it takes to be a resilient, courageous and good leader.”
