SA educators unite at Youth Connect
Wednesday, 10 Sep 2025
Youth Connect, Life Ed South Australia’s signature event, was a big hit amongst the many teachers and school leaders who attended on Friday, 5 September 2025.
Youth Connect is all about bringing teachers and experts together to share insights and strengthen the way we support relationship education and wellbeing in schools.
The engagement and enthusiasm we saw in the room showed how deeply the expert presenters and teachers care about creating safe, inclusive, and empowering environments for young people.
The engagement and enthusiasm we saw in the room showed how deeply the expert presenters and teachers care about creating safe, inclusive, and empowering environments for young people.
Hosted by renowned comedian and MC, Libby Trainor Parker, the event featured keynote presentations and a lively panel discussion with:
- Dr Jacqui Hendriks, Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion & Sexology, Curtin University, shared “Best Practice Relationships and Sexuality Education in Schools”.
- Jonny Shannon, Australia’s Motivational Speaker of the Year and Youth Worker, discussed “Empowering Students to Combat Schoolyard & Online Bullying”.
- Mike Dyson, Founder of Good Blokes Co and creator of the Better Conversations with Boys program, explored “Building a Culture of Respect, Resilience & Healthy Masculinity”.
- Dr Joey Lawrence, Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Neuropsychology Registrar, and Co-Founder of Neudle Psychology, shared insights into “Creating Neuroinclusive Classrooms”.
By bringing educators together with specialists in psychology, health promotion, and youth development, Youth Connect aims to close the gap between what young people are experiencing and how schools can respond.
Young people told us they’re struggling with anxiety, peer pressure and harmful attitudes towards consent and respect - today our experts helped teachers turn those voices into practical strategies for the classroom.
