Northern Territory Youth Week 2023 is now underway, and City of Darwin is again offering a range of activities as part of the Territory-wide celebrations of our young people.
Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said Youth Week was an opportunity to acknowledge the many positive contributions young people make to Darwin and the challenges facing the current generation of people under 25.
“Among the biggest challenges young people face today are insecure housing and rental stress,” Mr Vatskalis said.
“Last week Australia’s Council of Capital City Lord Mayors met in Canberra where we voiced our concerns about Australia’s housing crisis. Young people are one of the groups most adversely affected by this situation,” he said.
“Here in the Territory, we have a homelessness rate which is 12 times the national average, meaning many young Territorians are caught up in our housing crisis.
“City of Darwin’s annual Youth Week highlight is the Couch Surfing event. City of Darwin and Anglicare will team up again this year for Couch Surfing as way of celebrating the resilience of young people affected by homelessness.”
This year’s Couch Surfing event will be held in Civic Park on 19 April to coincide with National Youth Homelessness Matters Day.
Other City of Darwin Youth Week activities include a Skate Park Trek, today; Young Territory Author Awards Writing Workshop, tomorrow; Gaming After Dark (14 April) and FREEze Skate (15 April).
“City of Darwin is proud to be part of a week which celebrates the achievements and resilience of young Territorians,” Mr Vatskalis said.
