Media releases

A group of talented students from Cranbourne East Secondary College have come up with a plan to reduce racism in their community.

Their idea, involving a TikTok campaign, has been chosen as the winning entry from a community safety project supported by Federation University, Victoria Police, and the City of Casey.

The Fed Casey Youth Safety Project has given Year 10 students from 22 local schools the opportunity to share their ideas on how to create a safer City of Casey.

Students were encouraged to choose a specific safety issue of importance to them and develop a strategy for responding to that issue.

As part of the project, they met Federation University criminologist Dr Rachel Hale and were supported with mentoring from third year Criminology and Criminal Justice students.

Finalists were chosen from the submitted videos and attended a virtual presentation night where they presented to a judging panel made up of representatives from City of Casey, Victoria Police and Federation University. Runners up were groups from Nossal High School and Berwick College.

The students from Cranbourne East Secondary College identified racism and the verbal and physical abuse it often results in, as a key issue of concern to them. They proposed the creation of a Council-backed TikTok campaign to stem intolerance in their community.

The campaign would enable those who have experienced racial abuse of any type to share their stories on the popular social media platform with the greater City of Casey community.

Doing so would help to address the lack of understanding that often leads to intolerance.

Quotes attributable to Federation University Berwick Head of Campus, Kathy Racunica

“Congratulations to all of the participants in the inaugural Youth Safety Project. The ideas were fantastic, and all participants should be extremely proud of their hard work. By partnering with the City of Casey and Victoria Police, we can help nurture a safe and prosperous community where our young people are empowered to have their say on local issues.”

Quotes attributable to Cranbourne East Secondary College Year 10 Assistant Leader, Ricky Strange

“Cranbourne East Secondary College is very proud of the effort of the students through such a difficult year. It’s been wonderful watching the students work towards the future of the community, and we’re very excited to see how the projects will be implemented into the City of Casey. Congratulations to the winners, we’re very proud of you.”

Quotes attributable to City of Casey Acting Manager, Safer Communities, Nik Filips

“The City of Casey is a proud supporter of the Fed Casey Youth Project. The project and partnership have been a great success in its inaugural year. We look forward to working with the winning team to see their pitch come to fruition. Due to the success of this project, the City of Casey will continue to support the project and work with local schools, students, Victoria Police and Fed Uni again next year.”

Quotes attributable to Casey Police Senior Sergeant Alan Dew

“People of the participants’ age are more likely to be victims of crimes, and also offenders, than almost any other age group.”

“Victoria Police therefore sees value in giving them a voice to express their safety concerns.”