No Worries Festival
What does the term ‘no worries’ mean to you? For most Australians it means ‘no stress’ or ‘it’s all good’. For a group of young refugees from diverse cultural backgrounds, however, it means ‘leaving your worries behind you’, and was the name they chose for their festival aimed at engaging young people.
The No Worries Festival was planned and staged by the Youth Advisory Group, a team of emerging young leaders formed through the Brotherhood’s Refugee Youth Development Program at the Ecumenical Migration Centre. The Fitzroy Learning Network and the Brotherhood supported the group throughout the festival project.
The four key members of the Youth Advisory Group were Ronny from West Papua, William and Mawien from Sudan, and Lochie who was born in Australia.
Ronny, 27, says the group had identified a need to connect young people with service providers so they could access assistance if they needed it.
‘We find we get youth engaged through music and sports, and that’s how the festival was born’, he says.
The event, which was held in June in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, featured a soccer tournament and giveaways of the No Worries Festival CD, a compilation of the work of local musicians and hip-hop artists from diverse backgrounds. The CD also included a services directory for young people.
Ronny has gained many benefits from being involved in the Youth Advisory Group, such as leadership, teamwork and communication skills, as well as the opportunity to complete event management training.
He says the group is thrilled with all the positive feedback about the event from participants and members of the community, and that a bigger No Worries Festival is planned for next year.
‘It would be great if there’s more new emerging leaders for that and we could be their mentors and help show them the process’, he concludes.