Life Hacks

A book of handy tips, tricks and advice – Life Hacks – created by and for young people is being launched to help with the transition into adulthood.

The booklet had its genesis at last year’s Banyule Youth Summit and was one of a number of initiatives recommended by the 100 young people who attended the Summit and enthusiastically discussed ways to improve not only their lives but the community in which they live.

Banyule Council’s Youth Services team worked with a group of young women, including Gracie Britton, all students at Our Lady of Mercy College, in Heidelberg, to develop the 12-page booklet.

“As senior high school students, we are starting to think about our futures seriously. These big decisions really made us question the fact that at the end of Year 12 we’d go from being considered children, who had to ask to go to the toilet, to adults expected to make all our own decisions and start thinking about the big issues of life,” Gracie said.

“There isn’t a lot of time for schools to teach students all the skills needed for this transition and this really troubled us. We thought a book could really help combat this issue.”

The Mayor of Banyule, Cr Craig Langdon, said the booklet was easy to read and featured a host of useful information for young people gaining more independence and moving into adulthood.

“It covers commonly asked questions about finance, transport, study, employment, health, living out of home, eating, insurance and legal rights. The young people who helped develop the booklet made sure the content was accurately targeted at their peer group, easy to read and straight to the point,” he said.

Gracie Britton said it was amazing to see their Youth Summit recommendations being put into action. “We really enjoyed the day and it was amazing to talk about some of the issues young people face. When we found out two of our ideas had received funding we were stoked. It really made us realise how if everyone puts in a little bit, the community can get a lot out.”

The book will be launched at 2pm on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, at Our Lady of Mercy College.

Life Hacks will be available at Council’s three Customer Service Centres (Ivanhoe, Rosanna and Greensborough) and will be distributed to schools and libraries. It is also  available for download here.

Cr Langdon said he was delighted that his initiative, Banyule’s first Youth Summit, was achieving many things, including a Q&A Forum for Young Women in response to concerns about gender inequality, two dance parties for young people with a disability, social media campaigns focusing on health and wellbeing, and the development of the African Women’s Action Group.

“The Youth Summit will be held every two years and in between the summits, starting this year, we will be reviewing progress in implementing summit recommendations in a Youth Summit Report Card.”  

For more information visit Banyule City Council