YOUTH development and community impact will be celebrated once more this year, but the nomination period will soon close, at midnight on Sunday, 25 June.

Opened for nominations LGA-wide during MidCoast Council’s Youth Week back in April, the MidCoast Youth Awards are aimed at promoting young people who have “demonstrated personal growth and made a positive impact on their peers and the broader community”.

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Covering six categories, including the Arts, Community Service, Leadership, Sports, Wellbeing and Resilience, and Entrepreneurship, the awards recognise valuable contributions made by young people aged 12-24.

Arts include the visual (drawing, filmmaking, painting, photography), literary (fiction, drama, poetry and prose), and performing arts (dance, music and theatre).

Community Service recognises those who put others’ interests and needs first, to better the community as a whole, while Leadership can range from school captaincy to sporting clubs or community groups.

Wellbeing and Resilience recognises youth who have bounced back from tough times to accomplish positive outcomes, demonstrating inspirational triumph over adversity, or a dramatic increase in self-confidence and ability.

Entrepreneurship acknowledges vision and initiative in getting a new business off the ground, and demonstrating creativity and outside-the-box thinking in overcoming roadblocks.

Every category except ‘Entrepreneurship’ is further split into dual age-groups, a junior 12-17 years, and a senior 18-24 years, while the Entrepreneurship is only open to the senior age bracket.

Nominations shall be judged by a panel, and those short-listed will be invited to the awards ceremony in September, where the young winners will be announced, and each awarded an eftpos voucher valued at $250.

Although at the time of printing there will only be one in-person option left to make nominations, at Forster Library, Wednesday 21 June from 10-12pm, nominations can still be made via an online form at MidCoast Council’s Youth Awards website at https://www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/Community/Community-support-and-statistics/Youth/MidCoast-Youth-Awards.

Emails may be sent to council@midcoast.nsw.gov.au or phone calls made to (02) 7955 7777, if you require personalised assistance.

By Thomas O’KEEFE