Of the 13 youth who attended the Youth Council Grill and Chill event on 22 October 2022, 10 youth responded to an evaluation survey by the Youth Council. Below is a summary of their responses. Thanks to all who responded.
OVERALL RATING FOR THE EVENT
All of the youth who participated in the evaluation survey said that the event was good.
Specifically, 50% (5) indicated that the event was excellent; 30% (3) very good and 20% (2) good.
Respondents commented on what they most liked and disliked about the event:
LIKED ABOUT THE EVENT
- “Nice people and had fun”
- “everyone was really friendly and welcoming”
- “Being on the water and playing games”
- “Great activities, the venue was very nice. ”
- “very friendly environment, easy to social”
- “Sausage friends”
- “Love the music, food and games. Overall great location/views as well”
DISLIKED ABOUT THE EVENT
- “Too spread out, you need to push people together a bit to get them talking“
- “Possibly a lack of different food options. “
- “would have been nice outside too, later in the day“
- “indoors?”
BEST ADVERTISING THAT REACHED YOUTH
- 100% (10) found out about this event by “word of mouth”
REASONS FOR ATTENDING
When asked, ‘why did you decide to attend this event?’ comments offered were:
- “To support the youth council and meet like minded people”
- “get together with people my age and socialise”
- “Alvin asked us to”
- “Came along with a couple of friends as a good way to catch up”
- “joined with friends, meeting new people”
- “Friends”
- “Great day with friends”
- “It sounded like an enjoyable way to spend my Saturday. Chilled, music and good company.”
NETWORKING
Overall, 70% (7) of the respondents were satisfied with the networking opportunities for the event.
Specifically,
- 50% (5) of the youth said that they were very ‘Satisfied’ with the networking opportunities provided.
- 20% (2) were ‘Very satisfied’
- 10% (1) was ‘Very unsatisfied’
- 20% (2) were ‘Neutral’
LENGTH OF EVENT
70% (7) of the participants said it was ‘About right,’ and 30% (3) found it long.
Specifically, 20% (2) said it was ‘long’ and 10% (1) said it was ‘much too long.’
RECOMMEND FUTURE YOUTH COUNCIL EVENTS
All of the respondents are interested in recommending future youth council events.
- 40% (5) are highly likely to recommend our future events to friends and family.
- 40% (4) are most likely to recommend our future events to friends and family
- 20% (2) are likely recommend our future events to friends and family
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
“perhaps including workshops/skillshare, etc”
“Subject of event. Non formalised eg one activity for all. in groups”
“Outdoor events”
VOLUNTEERING INTEREST
25% (2) are interested in volunteering with the Youth Council while 75% (6) were not interested.
One person is interested in joining the Youth Council.
CONCLUSION
Overall, the Youth Council considers their first event to be successful as they achieved their aim of creating an event for networking for youth that was a social day of fun and entertainment. This was appealing to youth as all of the youth who attended found out about it by word of mouth.
All of the respondents indicated that they are interested in recommending future youth council events.
To attract more youth to future events, it is clear that spreading the word to youth and the support of youth organisations and the community in promoting the event to youth, is vital.
The Youth Council members gained many skills from organising and hosting this event including stakeholder engagement, event planning and evaluation, project management, purposeful communication and developing a social enterprise. Most importantly they worked as a team and were motivated by a clear purpose of the day.
This event was well supported by leading local community organisations: Volunteers from Kiama Rotary including the President of Rotary, Carol Jagger; Rachael Peedom from Makuta; Dave Peedom from Kiama Surf Lifesaving Club; Kiama High School and The Bugle.
Diann Rodgers-Healey and Philip Healey from the Illawarra Centre for Enablement supported the Youth Council through the entire day.
That there were 21 youth present at this event, including members of the Youth Council is testament to the success of this event, being run by Illawarra youth for Illawarra youth.
The Youth Council will regroup next year to plan their agenda for 2023.
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