Brimbank Youth Council: Alicia Gec

It’s with great pleasure to introduce your 2022 Brimbank Youth Council: Alicia Gec!

Name: Alicia Gec

Pronouns: She/her 

Suburb: Taylors Lakes 

Tell us more about yourself!

I’m passionate about serving the community and relish the opportunity to make a difference to the wider community. I have been involved in various leadership positions both in and out of school for the past 5 years. I was the Junior Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 2020. I enjoy public speaking and meeting new people. 

I’m 14 years old and have always loved performing the craft of dancing, singing and acting, these have always been close to my heart. It’s definitely a passion that I absolutely love. I’m also very passionate and competitive in sports, in particular athletics (track and field) and cross country. I’ve represented Keilor Little Athletics Centre at both State and regional level. 

Why did you join the BYC?

I want to represent and be a voice for the youth of Brimbank. There are so many wonderful programs that the BYC has to offer to the youth, I want to assist in promoting these initiatives plus new activities to our youth especially those who currently are not engaged. I know that with our diverse community, language and or issues at home can sometimes be barriers and I would like to assist in further changing this so that more young people can be engaged.  We live in a great municipality, I would like to empower Brimbank youth to get involved, have a say and make a difference.

What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about the health and well being of young people.  I would like to inform more people about the terrific resources and programs Brimbank has to offer that encourages and motivates young people to participate in sport. Programs such as in2sport are terrific programs that help children living in Brimbank take part in community sport, regardless of their families financial circumstances. We can spread these programs through school newsletters to get even more children to join a sport.  Young people need to keep active as a healthy body is a healthy mind which expresses the theory that physical exercise is an essential part of mental and psychological well-being. You need these two pieces to be a well-functioning person.

Participating in any kind of sport is a great way to stay active while making new friends and having lots of fun.  Girls in particular as they get older start dropping out of sport. Their self appearance, body changes and confidence all have an impact on how they view sport.  I would like to be an ambassador for the youth of Brimbank encouraging them to speak out when they are not ok and encouraging more young people especially girls to continue or take up a sporting activity. 

Another passion is the Greening West Project. Greening the West is a regional initiative that’s about enriching communities in Melbourne’s west through the development of green spaces. The western region receives less rainfall than other parts of Melbourne meaning they are drier and can experience warmer temperatures during the day. Greening the West aims to increase tree canopy cover to mitigate the impacts of heatwaves to improve the health and well being of all residents. I would love to see this initiative extended to the schools in Brimbank.  We need more trees in our schools. This allows great shade and shelter during the hot weather for the school community. As well as providing opportunities for environmental education. We can create a great youth initiative to teach students about flora and fauna native to our area while encouraging birds and pollinators too. Students can be part of the program by planting and looking after the trees. 

Finally, I believe mental health and physical health are also incredibly important as they correlate with each other meaning that without having both of these aspects working together your well-being isn’t at its full potential. I want to inform more people about simple ways by which you can change your mental health through maintaining good physical health. It’s essential to recognise that Motion equals emotion. For example, just by going for a walk outside generates an amazing energy of happiness and accomplishment that fills your body and ultimately makes you feel better. Hence, changing your mood and emotions. 

What are you hoping to achieve as a BYC member this year?

I’m hoping to act on my ideas and make Brimbank an even more beneficial and happier place for us all to live. I want to explore ways by which we can make our community come closer together, especially since we’ve all been apart for so long during the past lockdowns. I want to learn more about this great community’s history and people, expand on my knowledge of what it takes to be a leader and learn from other people’s views and perceptions of topics that give a broader perspective on different matters. 

What does a better Brimbank look like to you?

My dream Brimbank would be a place with many more trees and parks which attracts even more people from our community to step outside and be further active. An area that focuses on the health and wellbeing of the entire community; both young and our senior citizens. A city where more young people participate in sports and the levels of obesity in our society are reduced. A Brimbank that offers more employment opportunities and increases the skill base for all of its residents.  

What’s one piece of advice you have for young people who want to create change in their community?

To pursue your ideas and advocate for positive change without giving up; working towards your goals no matter how many challenges stand in your way.  Remembering that your voice should be heard especially since the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. 

You are full of so much potential and can shape this world by retaining awareness and motivation for positive change through the virtue of what you do.