Two inspiring young people have spoken up at the Forbes Lions Youth of the Year Quest. Club secretary Peter Bright said the program started in Queensland in 1964 and was soon adopted nationally by Lions Australia, becoming one of the Lions’ flagship youth development initiatives. He said the quest focuses on leadership, citizenship, community involvement, and public speaking. Candidates from local schools take part in a detailed interview before a panel of three judges, before delivering two short impromptu speeches on topical questions, and a five-minute speech of their own choice on a topic they are passionate about. “Thousands of young Australians participate each year. Many notable Australians; politicians, journalists, and community leaders; are former entrants,” Mr Bright said. “The Forbes and District Lions Club has been running this program in Forbes since we first formed the club in 2008. “This year we had two amazing students from the Parkes Christian School take part, Coco Byrnes and Victor Ilechukwu. "They both turned out to be truly inspiring young people leaving the three person judging panel with a very difficult choice, however the Forbes Club’s overall winner on the day by a narrow margin was Coco Byrnes.” Victor’s prepared speech was “The Importance of Representation” while Coco asked “Why Are Our Phones Overused?. The next round of Lions Youth of the Year Quest will be held either later this year or early next year. For more information email to forbes.nsw@lions.org.au Mr Bright would love to hear from anyone interested in the program. “If you’d like your school’s students involved in this great program next year, we would love to hear from you, particularly any teachers from Forbes High School, Red Bend Catholic College, the Parkes High School and of course, The Parkes Christian School," he said.
