New Generations Report
The main area of success in this portfolio has been the work with RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness), a young driver and passenger education program, operated in conjunction with Road Safety Education Australasia.
The program seeks to make young drivers and their passengers more aware of possible danger and hazards encountered whilst driving and provides them with strategies to avoid accidents and possible harm whilst on the road. These strategies range from, awareness of their own mindset and how it might affect their driving, to “speaking up” as a passenger when they notice potentially dangerous behaviour of the driver. The program also makes students aware of the amount of tyre tread necessary for the safe operation of a motor vehicle and the importance of the ANCAP safety rating, when buying their first car. The RYDA Program is funded by a grant from the IMB Community Foundation with our club as the co-ordinating club and working in conjunction with other Rotary Clubs from the Illawarra.
The program took place on 12 & 13 August, 17 October 2025 and 20 & 21 May 2026 for a total booked attendance exceeding 650 students. The RYDA Program takes place the Kembla Grange Racecourse, which subsidises 50% of the venue costs.
Jayden Godbold applied for RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment), which took place in August 2025. Jayden reported on her experience on 10 September 2025, along with Nicolas Fanthem, our RCWW John Chaplin Memorial Scholar and Maddy Lawson, our Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Scholar.
We were unable to secure applications for NYSF (National Youth Science Forum) or RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). If you know any young people in the 15-25 age group, please make them aware of our Rotary Youth Programs. I would like to thank all those who assisted with the operation of our various Youth Programs.