Girls from nearly 20 schools across country Victoria gathered to launch the Be Bold Be Heard program this week at GMHBA Stadium.
North Geelong Secondary College assistant principal and program co-founder Brad Headlam said the program focused on empowering students to “design and make change in their own school or community context”.
“We support them in developing their own voices by giving them an action plan, coaching them and advising them,” he said.
“Over the course of four forums, we bring their capacity to collaborate and engage to a new level, then they go back to their schools and keep the changes occurring.”
That ethos of empowering the students found expression in the structure of the program itself. Mr Headlam said originally he had clear ideas on the program’s design, but from the beginning the students themselves set the agenda.
“I had certain data I wanted to change in our school, but it was actually the girls who took the direction and we went from there,” he said.
“And most of the stuff I wanted to happen – girls speaking up in classrooms and being involved in their own learning pathways – has happened indirectly over time.”
Former participant and current Be Bold Be Heard committee member Annabelle Lane graduated last year as Geelong High School captain.
She said her journey through the program had helped her “be myself, be authentic, be bold and brave”.
“When I was younger I was always thinking about everything that could go wrong…but this program showed me obstacles are meant to teach you lessons that will push you to be the person you’re meant to be,” she said.
