West Tamar Youth Mayor Program
Future Shapers - Game Changers
The West Tamar Youth Mayor Program
is for a year 7-9 student (students in year 6-8 apply for the following year) selected to represent the young people of the West Tamar municipality. They will provide a focus and a channel for young people’s views to be heard by those in Council.
The Youth Mayor can be influential in promoting the West Tamar Youth Strategy as they support shaping a positive future for local young people.
The 2023-2026 West Tamar Youth Strategy identified the goal of developing formidable young people with skills and confidence in our municipality. The West Tamar Youth Mayor role will recognise the importance of helping better represent young people in the West Tamar, by speaking on behalf of their needs and opportunities to publicly and effectively work towards empowering local young people.
Grade 8 Riverside High School student Millie van Est has been announced as the Council’s new Youth Mayor for 2026.
Millie said that in applying for the Youth Mayor role, she knew that she wanted to make a difference; not just for herself, but for all young persons in the West Tamar community.
“So being chosen for this position means more to me than anything I can put into words, and I’m so grateful to everyone who supported me along the way,” Millie said.
“One of the biggest reasons I wanted to become Youth Mayor is because I believe every young person deserves to have a say in the activities, decisions, and changes that happen around us.”
Mayor Christina Holmdahl said she enjoyed sharing her official mayoral duties with the Youth Mayor and had genuinely valued having a youth perspective on Council and community matters.
“As a Council, we greatly value the opinions of young people in the West Tamar and want them to be able to communicate with us about their views,” Mayor Holmdahl said.
