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Last night, Youth Projects proudly hosted the 2025 Youth Awards, an inspiring evening celebrating Melbourne’s young leaders, creatives, and changemakers. The awards event, designed by young people, for young people, highlighted the extraordinary achievements of nominees and winners across the city. Representatives from state and federal government including Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Office of Youth, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Victoria Police along with former AFL player and LGBTIQA+ advocate Mitch Brown and many other key stakeholders, partners and friends joined us to recognise the talent, leadership and resilience of Melbourne’s young changemakers.

Hosted by previous winner, advocate and youth worker Abeer Fatima, the evening included a packed program of performances by Arvin and Colin, Amnesia and Kavya, all designed and booked by our Youth Advisory Group. 

And of course, the night was catered by The Little Social, our social enterprise supporting young people to take their first step in the hospitality industry. 

Celebrating our 2025 winners!

The Youth Awards recognise young people who demonstrate resilience, creativity, leadership and social impact. This year’s winners exemplify how young people are shaping their communities and inspiring positive change.  

“It’s awesome to see there are so many young people in our community doing pretty cool things,” said Harry. “A lot of young men grow up in a world where they don’t have access to strong positive male role models. And our mission as Blues and Greens is to create a space where young men feel like they can live their happiest and most confident life.”

A special mention to our four finalists for the Young Leader Award; Dina Tomena, Zac Chu, Thomas McInnes and Keeley Johnson. The calibre of nominations this year was incredibly high, and these young people have done fantastic work across all different areas of impact in their communities. We can't wait to see the incredible work they do next - watch this space!

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“Having someone by their side means being seen, heard, respected and understood. It means being able to attend appointments without fear of stigma or judgement, but instead somewhere that allows creativity, authenticity to flourish. It means co-creating a space that’s safe to talk through some things that have perhaps never been voiced anywhere else, whilst also having a rapport to challenge thinking in a constructive and empowering way,” said Josh. ‘This event is designed by and for an incredible group of young leaders, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the good that you do and hopefully being by your side for it.” 

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“Tonight is all about the collective power of young people across Melbourne who show up, speak up, and refuse to accept a future written without us,” says Matteo. “Every young person here proves that change is something we build, not something we wait for.”  

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“AFL has always been a big part of my life. It’s taught me so much about hard work, resilience, leadership and showing up even when things get tough,” said Annie. “This award motivates me to keep improving, keep learning and to see how far I can go in the AFL.” 

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“I couldn’t be more thrilled and excited about winning the Emerging Creative Award,” says Kavya. “I will continue to advocate for others while staying creative and true to myself.”  

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Youth Co-Design at the Heart of the Awards

The Youth Awards are co-designed by our Youth Advisory Group, reflecting what matters most to young people. This ensures the awards genuinely celebrate youth leadership, creativity, and impact. YAG also plays a vital role in helping us design our Youth Projects programs, so we understand exactly where support is needed and what works best for young people in each community. Recently, YAG has expanded into four local groups, allowing us to respond more precisely to the unique needs of young people across different local areas.  

“I joined this group because, like so many of you here, I believe in the power of young people’s voices.” said Alexandra, Youth Advisory Group member. “I wanted to be an active advocate for my peers helping to make a real difference and lift others up. But I also joined for the chance to build strong social connections, meeting young from all backgrounds and creating relationships focused on positive change.”