Benalla Rural City, Victoria, received entries from 35 year 8 students for its Live4Life competition, which encourages young people to submit a creative project to increase understanding, reduce stigma and improve mental health knowledge.
The theme for this year’s competition was ‘It ain’t weak to speak’, a theme selected by the Benalla Live4Life Crew, a group of volunteer Year 9 and 10 students who have driven the program throughout the year.
The winning entry was a collaboration by Year 8 students from FCJ College.
The mini-documentary featured the producers, other students and older community members and reinforced the importance of mental health help-seeking.
Runners up and highly commended participants were also awarded for entries which included a photo booth, an interactive art project and a poster.
Acting Mayor, Councillor Peter Davis, said that the calibre of entries showed the sophistication of how students are considering mental health.
“The Benalla Live4Life competition entries indicate a high level of understanding about mental health issues that affect young people today.”
The Live4Life Crew selected the winning entries based on creative innovation, quality of work, clarity of message and adherence to theme.
“The competition encourages the development of the skills and knowledge that help young people recognise the state of their own mental health and that of those around them.
“The competition demonstrated that students can promote the mental health messages that are most valid and important to them.”
