Congratulations to all the winners from the 2023 WA Youth Awards, proudly sponsored by Embrace @ The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Among the finalists for the awards, which were announced on Friday 27 October, were the Walkern Katatdjin research team, nominated for the Youth Focus Sector Collaboration Award for Pride Yarns with Mob.
Walkern Katatdjin also released a first-of-its-kind national survey of the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people earlier this year, with support from Embrace.
A community participant on Pride Yarns with Mob, Dillian Binar Cumming, received the Commissioner for Children and Young People Participate Award.
Embrace Program Manager Grace Brown said it was inspiring to attend the Youth Awards, and witness first-hand the contribution of young people to communities in WA.
“The Awards were fantastic. This year’s finalists were all so passionate about social justice and amplifying voices that may be marginalised or unheard,” Ms Brown said.
It’s affirming for us to see the hard work of these young people going rewarded. It also reinforces for us that we are on the right path with our community-focussed research priorities and commitment to empower young people in everything we do.
WA Youth Minister Simone McGurk labelled the winners and finalists as “role models for all of us”.
"All the finalists should be proud of their very important work – tackling issues such as bullying, social justice, mental health and the environment – and making a real difference,” she said in a statement.
The YACWA 2023 Youth Awards night at WA Museum Boola Bardip.