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Newy students accept challenge to create a more accessible, inclusive city

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Dozens of students from Newcastle high schools will take part in the inaugural Sustainnovation Challenge this week.

A first-of-its-kind collaborative learning experience for secondary pupils, the City of Newcastle event – on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 November – is designed to help create a smart, liveable, and sustainable future.

The first of the program’s four challenges is: How do we make Newcastle more accessible and inclusive for everyone in our community?

Schools signing on for the two-day virtual workshops include Newcastle High, Lambton High, Hunter School of the Performing Arts, West Wallsend High, Merewether High, St Philip’s Christian College, Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College, Big Picture Education Cooks Hill Campus, Macquarie College and San Clemente High.

Community Disability Advocacy Hunter’s (CDHA) community organiser and Sustainnovation Challenge presenter David Belcher said the program was a timely opportunity to develop greater understanding around real change.

“We need to be aware that better accessibility to workplaces, shops, restaurants, venues and public amenities benefits everybody – not just those with a disability,” he explained.

“Whether people are living, working in or visiting Newcastle, future planning needs to focus on limiting barriers and increasing inclusion for all.”

The community capacity building project being delivered under council’s NewSkills and Living Lab programs is trialling a unique partnership between education, industry, community and city leaders who are volunteering their expertise to develop workable solutions to important issues.

Program director Duncan Burck said students would undertake a series of preparation and discovery sessions before creating and then pitching their problem-solving ideas to a specialist judging panel.

Concepts showing the greatest smart city potential will then progress to council’s Living Lab accelerator program to be further developed and possibly implemented.

“Students will hear from people with lived experience and also those working in the disability sector about real problems and challenges,” Mr Burck added.

“We want to tap into young people’s creativity, enthusiasm, fresh ideas and insights to create and design a better future.

“Under expert guidance and mentoring, I’m looking forward to hearing about our students’ perspectives and how they could help determine innovative and sustainable outcomes for our city.”

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