.
Create & Connect...
A system of programs, training, enterprise and consultancy designed to shift how young people and organisations create, lead, and participate.
Who is this for?
For organisations, educators, youth workers, mental health practitioners, and community programs working with young people across diverse settings, including First Nations and broader youth contexts.
Girls on Country is a participant-led ecosystem combining creative practice, structured facilitation, and real-world pathways for expression and economic participation.
Services
Creative Leadership Program
​Girls on Country Creative Leadership Program is an arts program for First Nations young women designed to build confidence, identity, and leadership through creativity.
Created by Lydia Cohen, Girls on Country offers a participant-led approach where young women aged 12–25 shape their own ideas, creative direction, and outcomes.
Through music, visual art, fashion, digital storytelling, and collaborative creative projects, participants develop self-expression, agency, and real-world leadership skills.
Outcomes:
Over the course of a year, 18 participants from a remote Indigenous community engaged in Girls on Country Arts program. At the end of the program, significant positive changes were observed:
-
Employment: 28% of participants (5 out of 18) had secured employment by the end of the year.
-
Self-Harm Incidents: Incidents of self-harm among participants dropped by 50%.
-
Police Engagement: Negative interactions with police decreased by 39%.
-
School Attendance: Participants’ school attendance increased by 26%.
-
Self-Confidence and Skill Development: Participants reported feeling significantly more confident in themselves and their abilities
​These results demonstrate the program's impact, contributing to personal growth, community safety, and increased educational and economic engagement.
Kiki Albury (age 14)
"I felt proud being in the exhibition. I felt like people listened to what I was saying, it felt good"
Christine R Kunoth (age 15)
"I liked the painting and the talking. We talked all together."
Sharona Kunoth (age 16)
"It was fun and different for us."
