The 2025 MADALAH Youth Leadership Summit was held in Geraldton and sponsored by Guma-Warnii! Students and staff jumped on the bus at the MADALAH office, excited for the road trip ahead. Once the wheels got moving, students spent their time on the bus talking to their friends and getting to know some of the new faces that were coming on camp this year. We made a pit stop along the way at Badgingarra for a quick snack break, then hit the road for the final stretch to Geraldton. We arrived at Geraldton Camp School and were welcomed by Kathy Counciler and joined by Michael and Brent from Guma-Warnii. After an amazing welcome, students had some free time to settle into their dorms and look around the camp school.
In the evening the YLS group were then joined with students and families from our local partner school, Nagle Catholic College. Students got the BBQ going to cook up a nice feed for our guests. This was a great opportunity for our YLS group to mingle and meet some of our regional partner school students. Once we all had a nice dinner together, we were joined by local elders Charmaine Green, Tamati Smith and Michael Mongoo, who were happy to share their knowledge and stories. This was a special moment for students, as they were able to connect with the stories that have been passed down for multiple generations. To wrap up the day, we introduced the Amazing Race teams and played an ice-breaker game as we had a few new faces that joined the camp this year.
“YLS is the opportunity to grow Indigenous leaders, help present the idea that Indigenous people can be good and show everybody an overall positive view of Indigenous students.”– Will
On day two, the group were split into their two amazing race teams. The day included a bike trail ride through Geraldton Town Centre and along the beach. This was very informative for the students as we rode along the Waterfront Heritage Trail and had many stops along the way where our very own local Charles, informed students about the historical significance of each site. We also rode to the Museum of Geraldton where students got to look around at the different types of history and culture from the area. While one group was doing this bike trail, the other team were doing a Wajarri art activity back at camp. Then the groups swapped so everyone got to experience each activity.
After students had some relaxing time for lunch, staff started to set up the Amazing Race activities. Our Head Boy and Head Girl were captains of each team and were given the responsibility of creating a team chant. This year, each team were given a mascot that they had to take around with them while they competed in the race. Teams were given their first clue and the race begun. Once the Amazing Race had concluded, students got ready for dinner and had free time to relax and unwind as it had been a long day filled with lots of physical activities. After dinner, staff announced the winner of the Amazing Race and presented them with their medals. To wrap up the day, we held our annual quiz night. Students were split into groups of 4 and participated in a series of questions, followed along with minute-to-win-it mini games.
“YLS is such a great opportunity for all of us to build our leadership skills, build our communication and interpersonal skills, meet new people and make new friends, which is such a benefit when we’re in school.” – Lavinia
Day three was a day that many of our older YLS participants had been looking forward to for years. We got on the bus and had a beach day in Horrocks. Staff and students went swimming, fishing, played cricket and beach games and enjoyed a fun relaxing day. This was several of our students’ favourite day, as they got to bond even more as a group and experience a day of unplanned fun, just living in the moment.
When headed back to camp, so students could have some free time before getting straight into letter writing. For the letter writing activity, students are given a name of another leader on camp and must write a letter to them. In this letter, students must write about the leadership skills that they notice and their favourite thing they have done with that student on camp so far. This is a meaningful activity that students put a lot of effort into which makes them realise how important they all are to each other and further grow each other’s confidence.  We then had our debate activity, where students were put into groups and each had different topics that they needed to be either for or against. They would debate against another group while the judge’s aka MADALAH staff, pick a winner by scoring them for each factor of the debate. This was such a fun activity, and the students got really involved by bringing their real-life experiences into the debate, which made it more meaningful and funnier depending on the debate topic.
“I am a very non-talkative person, so it gave me some leadership skills to talk to people.” – Dot
This was also gala night, where students dress up in their nicest clothes and enjoy a yummy dinner in a decorated room filled with fairy lights, sweet treats, done up tables with set seating and music playing. The letters that they wrote for each other were placed at their assigned seat. Once students entered the room, they sat down to read the letters, taking in the nice messages from their peers about themselves and their leadership skills. This was such a special moment for students and had them all curious about who wrote what letter.
After such a wholesome moment, we followed this up with some heart-warming speeches from Charles. Charles created and expressed personalised speeches to each individual student, while they came forward to receive their Youth Leadership Summit certificate. This year, we had a large group of year 12’s graduating at the end of the year meaning this would be their last Youth Leadership Summit. We decided to do something a bit different and get another student that was close to them, to read their speech to make it even more special. As students came up to speak about each year 12, tears and laughter filled the room, making this a very meaningful moment for all. We then went through the awards, Belle and Beau of the ball and took some photos. After the formalities were over, we moved the tables and chairs out the way and turned the music up and had a disco. This is always a fun time with karaoke and dance-offs.
“YLS means a sense of a close-nit community where everyone can be themselves without feeling judged.” – Alyssa
The last day of camp, we packed up, jumped on the bus ready to head back to Perth. Before leaving Geraldton, we stopped off at Nagle Catholic College. This was an amazing opportunity for our students to make new connections and get to know each other. We played some ice-breaker games which really helped the students relax and feel comfortable with each other. We jumped back on the bus and stopped for lunch in Jurien Bay, the students loved this stop as it had a basketball court and jetty to walk along with beautiful views. Then we headed back to Perth where families were waiting at the MADALAH office ready for pick up.
Overall, this was a very special camp and one with a lot of memories made. Deep connections and relationships were formed, which students will hold on to for the rest of their lives. Camps like these are so important as it not only helps students build on their leadership skills but also helps to realise how much of a community and MADALAH family they have that are going through the same things as they are which creates a huge support system for them while they are at school and away from home.
We would like to give a huge thank you to Guma-Warnii for sponsoring this event and dropping by to spend some time with the students. Without your support, our students wouldn’t be able to have these experiences together.
“It’s a chance to see all my close friends from other schools and make new friendships. It also helps me improve my leadership qualities more and more every year.” – Tahnee
The MADALAH Youth Leadership Summit is an opportunity for our young leaders to come together from our partner schools, create connections and further develop their leadership skills. This is accomplished through a variety of activities, new experiences and challenging team games, that students participate in over the duration of a 4-day camp.
