ICC Sydney welcomes youth wellbeing event Stand Tall for seventh consecutive year

International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has welcomed its charity partner event, Stand Tall, for the seventh consecutive year today.

Following a sold out hybrid event in 2022, youth mental health charity Stand Tall has welcomed 6,000 high school students to Aware Super Theatre and is anticipated to surpass last year’s 115,000 live stream remote viewers from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond.   

Presenting a stellar line up of inspirational speakers and entertainers including accomplished businessman and sportsman Michael Crossland, Australian singer and dancer Timomatic, and Australian professional rugby league footballer, Nicholas (Nicho) Hynes, Stand Tall 2023 brought together some of Australia's leading young talent and motivational speakers to share stories of hope, courage and resilience.  

Australia’s largest youth wellbeing event aims to address the increasingly high incidences of mental health issues in young people, inspiring attendees to change the course of their lives and build hope for the future. Hope is one of the critical metrics in Australia’s Gallup Student Poll (GSP), as hope, or the lack of it, affects student goals, dreams and life outcomes. The 2019 GSP revealed that only 42% of students are hopeful and almost three quarters (74%) of secondary students surveyed by Stand Tall say the event program positively impacted them.  

Stand Tall Co-founder and Associate Chief Executive Angela Farr-Jones said as a mother of four she’s committed to fostering hope and confidence in the younger generation, so they can better cope with whatever life throws at them. 

Farr-Jones advised "now in our seventh year together with ICC Sydney, Stand Tall Event has grown from 1,500 in 2017 to 6,000 attendees with more than 115,000 people expected to join remotely in 2023. As Australia’s youth grapple with evolving challenges – from cyberbullying to our environmental crisis and the rising cost of living, never has it been so important to instil hope into the next generation.   

“It is absolutely vital that as young people tackle the broader societal issues or their own personal challenges that they are given hope for a better future. Young role models really do inspire other people. That is why now, more than ever, Stand Tall is committed to providing meaningful connections to support young Australians.”

ICC Sydney Chief Executive and Group Director – Convention Centres, ASM Global (APAC), Geoff Donaghy who addressed this year’s audience said Australia’s premier convention, exhibition and entertainment venue is proud to partner with the charity.    

Donaghy shared “ICC Sydney is honoured to have supported our community partner Stand Tall to deliver their extraordinary event for the past seven years. Leveraging our in house AV technology, talented events professionals and team member volunteers who support the event delivery, we have been able to creatively promote, plan and present this event – helping to expand its reach, to inspire more young people than ever this year and drive an important social impact legacy.”  

Stand Tall Chief Executive, Jeanine Treharne said the venue’s unique technical capabilities and delivery of the hybrid event made it possible to expand the impact of the Stand Tall event.  

“ICC Sydney was instrumental in helping us to reimagine the Stand Tall event to include a live stream back in 2020. This year we have again kept this legacy going and with ICC Sydney’s expert technical support, Stand Tall will reach beyond our attendees at Aware Super Theatre and help us to build hope in the lives of an unprecedented number of young people through the live stream,” Treharne added.

Traditionally a one day annual gathering at ICC Sydney, Stand Tall 2023 is set to exceed previous attendance records while building on the positive event impacts detailed in The International Research Centre for Youth Futures at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) qualitative and quantitative research into the effectiveness of the 2019 Stand Tall event.        

To find out more about ICC Sydney visit www.iccsydney.com

Images. Stand Tall 2022 event. Credit: ICC Sydney