Building bridges at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2017

Members of Australia's Catholic community gathered at the 2017 Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) this year, hosted by the Archdiocese of Sydney on December 7-9. Approximately 19,000 young people celebrated their faith together over three remarkable days.

This year's festival also launched the Year of Youth in 2017, marking an important ten-year anniversary since the first World Youth Day in 2008. Getting behind initiatives that connect youth and community with inspiring people continues to hold great importance for CCI. This time however, there were distinct advantages for returning visitors.

For the first time, The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) sent ten young people from communities across Australia to join in.

Kodi Brady, from Coonabarabran in NSW, was fully immersed in the 3-day festival. He described the experience as 'amazing to be among so many other people to share and celebrate their faith'.

"I helped to set up our cultural space. The first day was so special because of the 'acknowledgment of country'. To share our culture and faith with this community was important and we were really proud of our heritage and of the Church acknowledging Aboriginal land­. What was really amazing was sharing with people who hadn't experienced our culture before."

For Kodi, it was his first time being involved in the Festival and it aligned closely with his own personal aspirations.

"The most important thing to me as a youth worker, being so very much youth-focused, was the opportunity to make that connection, to be in this space with them so I could accompany them on their journey. I'm pleased the church has supported this initiative. Our space was a chill-out zone, with various indigenous activities and face painting, but we all attended different activities during the festival. We enjoyed the music but there were so many other things going on as well."

Among the NATSICC contingent were dancers from the Kimberley and the Tiwi Islands who joined the mix of upbeat performances that carried good vibes. Other Australian performers included Genevieve, Gary Pinto, and 'Natasha'. There were also Polynesian performers, and acclaimed international musicians Matt Maher, Emily Wilson, and Steve Angrisano.

Kodi highlighted the forum on same-sex marriage as a major attraction that saw so many lined up; lengthy queuing excluding some of the visitors.

"It was really impressive. Young people were telling their own stories about their relationships, and they were engaging with senior Catholic members of the Church. I saw interaction between youth and bishops around this current and very political, topical issue. It was great to see this communication and engagement between young and senior members of the community. It was inspiring to see that this journey has started, that the Church is engaging with the youth of today who are going to be our future leaders."

Kodi emphasised the importance of the Church connecting with youth in a 21st century context, and as a means of building on foundations for the journey ahead in ways that connect rather than divide.

When asked about ways the event might have a greater impact on the lives of young people, Kodi offered one simple consideration for next year's event.

"Maybe we need to have more consultation beforehand, to determine the topics that matter to our youth and to address the queues that were very long and that meant people missed out on specific forums due to their overwhelming popularity. Basically, it was jam-packed with crowds. We need to have a logistics plan that helps people to get around to everything because it was just amazing to see so many sharing in this celebration."

The ACYF once again provided consecutive days of dynamic workshops, seminars, music, and prayer for numbers close to 20,000. CCI was thrilled to have partnered with the ACBC Office for Youth to support the delivery of what is now a key Catholic youth event.