Free Debate volunteers participated in another excellent youth leadership program developed by Victorian Arabic Social Services (VASS), in conjunction with the Drummond Street Relationship Centre.
We worked with 10 young women and 10 young men on developing a confident speaking style. Each of the participants wrote and delivered a short speech on a topic that they felt passionate about. The range of topics was impressive - from concerns about animal rights, the environment, and knife crime, to a passionately argued case to allow 16 year olds with good school attendance records to begin driving.
Free Debate volunteers also assisted the participants to provide feedback to their peers, with a focus on bolstering the speaker's confidence.
In one of the two sessions we were lucky enough to have in the audience a lawyer from Youthlaw. This meant the young people were able to deliver their speeches to a (very impressed) representative from an advocacy body.
About VASS: One of Free Debate's strongest partners, VASS is a state-wide key service provider with specialist expertise and knowledge in working with Arabic-speaking-background communities.
