Up to 25 residents from across the Mid North Coast will soon have the chance to participate in a free two-day education program that focuses on building creative, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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The Creative Citizen Project (CCP) will be held in Port Macquarie on October 7-8.
The project is accepting applications from people aged between 15 and 30 years who are students, work for a local not-for-profit organisation, or are part of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's Youth Leadership Program.
Successful applicants will participate in a range of collaborative activities that tie together civics and citizenship knowledge with creative skills, including design thinking and an introduction to citizen journalism.
Participants will also have the opportunity to hear from special guest speaker the Hon. Bob Carr, the longest-serving Premier of NSW and current Professor of Business and Climate at the Institute of Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney.
Professor Carr will give a live online talk about his work and participate in a question-and-answer session with the program's participants.
Dr Willhemina Wahlin, one of the CCP's lead organisers and Lecturer in design and acting and Associate Head of School in Charles Sturt University's School of Communication and Creative Industries, said the program will not only be a valuable learning experience but it will also be a lot of fun for attendees.
"What you'll get out of it is some really great tools to become an effective storyteller, collaborator and creative citizen," she said.
"We created this program because we understand the power of creativity to give people a voice.
"Some of us have designed internationally travelling exhibitions, others have run theatre projects in post-war Sri Lanka. We have seen first-hand that creative skills are an essential part of changemaking.
"When you combine creative skills with civics and citizenship knowledge, there's no limit to what young people can achieve for their communities."
This year's CCP has been supported by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's Youth Leadership Program, and is part of a joint research study by Charles Sturt, Swinburne University of Technology, The Whitlam Institute in Western Sydney University and PROOF: Media for Social Justice.
Applications for the program close on Monday, October 5 or earlier if all of the 25 places are allocated.
More information on the program, eligibility and how to apply is available on the CCP website.
