Why the Youth Publication? 

Young people experience Greater Western Sydney differently.

You understand your communities, schools, neighbourhoods and public spaces in ways that statistics and reports alone never can.

The Western Sydney Youth Publication exists to create space for those experiences to be shared, celebrated and heard.

Our aim is to:

• amplify young people's voices

• celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives

• build confidence in storytelling and advocacy

• encourage meaningful conversations

• connect young people across Greater Western Sydney

• showcase positive community stories

• contribute to research and advocacy through lived experience

The Publication isn't just about publishing content.

It's about building a community of young people who care about the future of Greater Western Sydney.

What Can You Contribute? 

We welcome all forms of creative expression.

Artwork

Illustrations, paintings, digital art, comics and visual storytelling.

Examples:

Articles

Opinion pieces, feature stories and personal reflections.

Example: 

I Want a Future Here, Too
Why belonging in Western Sydney means having room to grow

Whenever someone asks what I want to do after school, the conversation usually moves pretty quickly to where I’ll go.

Which university? Which job? How far away?

I’m excited about those possibilities. I want to meet people, travel and find work I care about. But there’s another question I wish people asked more often: what would make you want to build your future here?

Because I can imagine that future.

I can imagine working somewhere close enough to get home for dinner. Finding a place of my own near people I know. Going to a local exhibition and recognising someone’s name beside the artwork because we used to catch the same bus.

That sounds like a life worth being ambitious about.

The places where we become ourselves

When I think about belonging, I think about ordinary places.

The library table where my friends and I spread out our notes, then spend half the afternoon distracting each other. The shops where we always run into someone. The park where a quick walk turns into a long conversation because nobody is ready to go home.

These places matter because we can be there without organising something special. We don’t need an invitation. Sometimes we barely need a plan.

As we get older, though, we need more places where we can try things. Somewhere to rehearse music, put on an exhibition, learn a skill or run an event. Somewhere we can make mistakes while figuring out what we’re good at.

I’d love to see more local spaces where a young person can walk in with an unfinished idea and find someone willing to help them develop it.

Let us help decide

Young people already have opinions about what would make our neighbourhoods better. Ask us about the journey to school, where we meet friends or what stops us attending something, and we’ll probably have quite a lot to say.

We notice which places have shade. Which activities cost too much. Which bus connection means leaving early. We also know where people feel comfortable and what makes an event worth showing up for.

That knowledge can help shape better decisions.

But being asked for an opinion is only the beginning. I want to know what happens after the survey closes. Did anything change? Was our idea possible? If it wasn’t, why?

Even a clear explanation would make me more likely to participate again. It would show that someone had taken the time to consider what we said.

A future we can picture

There are people here making things happen already: organising community events, supporting their neighbours, starting businesses and creating work they’re proud of. I want more chances to meet them and learn how they got started.

A local mentor, a first paid creative opportunity or someone willing to take an idea seriously can make the future feel closer. You begin to see where you might fit—and what you might contribute.

I don’t know whether I’ll always live in Western Sydney. There are places I want to see, and I’m still working out what I want.

But when I picture coming home, I hope there will be opportunities to bring what I’ve learned back with me.

For now, I’d like to help create something here. Maybe an event. Maybe a publication. Maybe a space that becomes somebody else’s favourite place to spend an afternoon.

I’d like to be asked what it could look like.

Photography

Capture the people, places and moments that tell a story about Western Sydney.

Examples:

Poetry

Creative writing, spoken word and short reflections.

Example:

“Save Me a Seat” 

When someone asks where I’m from,
I say Western Sydney.

Sometimes they want
a different answer.

So here it is:

I’m from the knock at the door
when our neighbour brings back a plate
with something else on it.

From my name said properly
across a noisy classroom.

From the basketball court
where “one more game”
means we’re all going home late.

I’m from the group chat:
where are you?
we’re near the station.
we saved you a seat.

Some days,
I want to go everywhere.

Other days,
I want to sit outside the shops
with people who knew me
before I knew myself.

Both things can be true.

When the train pulls in,
I look through the window
for a familiar face.

Someone sees me.

Moves their bag.

Makes room.

Interviews

Conversations with community members, family, local leaders or young people.

Example: 

“The Place We Keep Coming Back To” 

When did Western Sydney start feeling like home?

Not when we unpacked. For a while, I still called our old place “home”. Then one afternoon at the shops, three different people stopped to talk to me. Your grandfather said, “We can’t buy milk without you having a meeting.” I thought: perhaps we live here now.

Was it hard finding your people?

Yes. I missed having friends I didn’t need to explain everything to. Here, I had to start again. A woman I met at school pickup invited me for tea. I nearly said no because I was embarrassed about my English. We ended up talking for two hours.

What do you think people my age need to feel they belong?

You should answer that.

Somewhere we can hang out without having to buy anything. And adults who actually listen.

Then put that in your interview.

What’s your favourite place around here?

Your auntie’s backyard. Everyone complains there aren’t enough chairs, but nobody leaves.

Do you think I’ll always live here?

I don’t know. You might go somewhere else. I hope you get to choose.

Would you mind?

Of course I’d miss you. But I didn’t move all that way so you would never go anywhere.

What would you want me to take with me?

The habit of inviting people over. And my good containers, apparently. You already have most of them.

Community Stories

Tell us about the people, projects and places making a difference.

Example: 

“There’s Room for One More” 

A fictional story about a small community project, told through one person’s experience. 

The first time I went to the bike repair afternoon, I pushed my bike there.

The chain had slipped, one brake barely worked, and I’d spent three weeks pretending I preferred walking.

Outside our local community centre, volunteers had set up a folding table covered in tools. I hovered beside it until someone called, “Want to put yours up next?”

I expected them to fix it while I watched. Instead, a volunteer named Mari handed me a pair of gloves.

She showed me how to check the chain, then waited while I tried. When I got it wrong, we started again.

Around us, a little kid kept ringing a newly repaired bell. Two neighbours were arguing cheerfully about the best route to the station. Someone arrived with mandarins from their tree.

I left with a working bike and grease on my sleeve.

A month later, I came back. This time, my bike was fine. I helped set up the table and sorted the spanners, although I still had to ask which was which.

Then another teenager arrived, pushing a bike with a flat tyre. They stopped a few metres away, looking like they might turn around.

I recognised that pause.

“Want to put yours up next?” I asked.

Observation Sprint Stories

Turn your observations into stories about place, belonging and community.

Example:

Observation Sprint Story — Belonging Starts with Getting There

Adapted from a place audit by Zainab Abdul Wajid, a young person from The Ponds. The connection to belonging below is an editorial interpretation of her observations.

A station can connect us to education, work, friends and new experiences. But what happens when getting to the station becomes the difficult part?

In her observation of Tallawong Metro Station, Zainab explored the journey before the train ride. Drawing on her local experience, community concerns and published reporting, she described pressure on commuter parking and vehicles spilling into surrounding residential streets.

Her observations went beyond parking. She highlighted limited bus options around Themeda Drive, questioning what alternatives residents have when driving is their most practical way to reach the station.

Zainab also recorded concerns about construction vehicles competing for spaces and residents being redirected between organisations when seeking help. Her call was for coordinated action before pressures increased, including consideration of better bus routes, additional parking and investment that keeps pace with neighbourhood growth.

Through the theme of belonging, her audit raises a question: how easily can people take part in the life of their community?

Being able to reach a class, meet friends or get to work helps turn a place to live into a place where people can build their lives. Zainab’s contribution shows how paying attention to an everyday journey can identify opportunities to make Western Sydney more connected and how young people’s local knowledge can help shape those improvements.

Something Different?

Have another idea?

We'd love to hear it.

Why Contribute? 

Every contribution helps create a richer picture of life in Greater Western Sydney.

By contributing, you can:

• share your ideas with a wider audience

• develop writing and creative skills

• receive editorial support

• build a portfolio

• connect with other young people

• contribute to community conversations

• help shape future editions

• become part of a growing youth-led publication

Whether this is your first piece or your fiftieth, your perspective matters.

How It Works 

1. Explore the current theme.

2. Create your contribution.

3. Read the Submission Guidelines.

4. Submit your work online.

5. Our editorial team will review your submission.

6. Selected contributions will be published in the next edition of the Western Sydney Youth Publication.