Youth

A large team of NYSF students cheering at the end of an awesome week – 2019

The Rotary Club of Victor Harbor has a very active Youth Services Committee. Funding is provided by our club to assist young people to attend programs set up by Rotary International RI. The current youth programs adopted by our club include:

  • Rotary Youth Leadership Award – RYLA – which is a 7 day seminar for aspiring leaders aged 18 to 25 years.  Participants can seize the opportunity to develop leadership, communication and problem solving skills.
  • Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment – RYPEN – which provides 14 to 17 year olds an opportunity to leadership skills while having fun and engaging in activities such as problem solving and public speaking.
  • National Youth Science Forum – NYSF –which is for Year 11 students passionate about STEM subjects and which gives them an opportunity to visit a variety of leading scientific facilities and talk to top scientists.
  • The Science Experience – which is a fun 3 days of science activities for Year 9 and 10 students interested in science enabling them to visit a university, perform experiments, meet senior lecturers and have a taste of university life.
  • Health of the River – is for Year 9 and 10 students interested in river health, environmental science and natural resource management to take part in a program run by ecologists.
  • Rotary Youth Driver Awareness program – RYDA – provides the opportunity for secondary students to become informed about the risks on the roads and how they can become a safer road user.
  • The Fred Heddle Scholarship Award is for students needing financial assistance to enable them to continue their secondary or tertiary education.

The Club has also financially supported, amongst other things, academic awards for students, interstate sports trips for school teams, the Cows Create Careers program, and participation in the One and All experience.

The Youth Services Committee is currently providing support for the restart of the Doc on Campus program, and is exploring how it can assist students experiencing crisis situations in their lives.

Youth Activities at the Rotary Club of Victor Harbor

RYLA – Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

RYLA is a 7 day residential leadership seminar for aspiring leaders aged 18 to 25 years. The week incorporates a lot of self-development, through a variety of mechanisms including reflection (individually and as a team), team work, sports and outdoor activities, dancing, and many others. Participants can seize the opportunity to develop leadership, communication and problem solving skills, can practice new behaviours, forge life-long friends and challenge their personal belief systems and values.


NEW RYLA CANDIDATE 2021

The Youth Committee are pleased to announce a new sponsored candidate for the RYLA 2021. The chosen candidate is Michelle Monaghan. She will attend the week long leadership course in September and was thrilled to hear the good news from Youth Committee Director Stewart Cummings. She responded to say: ” Thank you so much to the Rotary Victor Harbor for sponsoring my attendance at RYLA in September. I am very excited to be able to participate in this experience and further develop my leadership skills and meet new people. It was lovely to meet you and the rest of the Youth Committee last week.
We wish her every success.

RYLA Candidate 2021 - Michelle
RYLA 2021 Candidate – Michelle Monaghan


NYSF – National Youth Science Forum

The NYSF offers Australia’s best and brightest young science students a unique chance to explore a wide range of universities and careers in science, engineering and technology.
National Youth Science Forum is a two week hands-on program for Year 11 students working with a wide range of experts, to test drive potential careers in the sciences and engineering.
This rewarding experience will help the students to make informed decisions about their future careers. The NYSF Committee promotes the program and selects secondary students, nominated by Clubs, to attend the National Youth Science Forum each year.
National Youth Science Forum – Inspiring Australia’s Young Scientists


RYDA – Roadsafe Youth Driver Awareness

Rotary Youth Driver Awareness Training Program in action – Australia 2019

The Rotary Club of Victor Harbor conjointly with the Rotary Club of Encounter Bay annually supports this great initiative, with the inclusion of schools situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula, participating annually.
RYDA provides first quality road safety information to youth to help ensure when they commence driving, they have the best road safety education possible.
RYDA a not-for-profit company (limited by guarantee), is an organisation that has developed a road safety education program delivered to the youth of our community through Rotary Clubs. The Program is directed towards our young people about road safety as they approach the period in their life when they start driving a car and ride as a passenger in a car driven by one of their peers.
RYDA provides support to schools who wish to educate teenagers to be responsible drivers, and works in conjunction with SAPOL.

RYDA – Road Safety Program in action!