Celebrating young changemakers at the City of Onkaparinga Youth Recognition Awards
Team members from Sonder’s headspace Onkaparinga centre were proud to attend the recent City of Onkaparinga Youth Recognition Awards, held at Port Noarlunga as part of SA Youth Week.
The event celebrated the outstanding achievements of young people across the Onkaparinga region, including several inspiring individuals connected to headspace Onkaparinga.
Two members of the headspace Onkaparinga Youth Reference Group, Sarah Thorpe and Zoe Moulder, were nominated for awards, with both taking to the stage to receive certificates from City of Onkaparinga Mayor, Moira Were, and the Onkaparinga Youth Committee. A special congratulations to Sarah, who received a Highly Commended award in her category — a well-deserved recognition of her outstanding contribution over the past few years.
Also celebrated on the night was Tanaya Anthony, a Narungga artist whose business journey began by hosting a stall in the First Nations Market Zone at Closing the Gap Day – an event hosted by Sonder and Nunkuwarrin Yunti. Tanaya launched her art business, Naysart, at the event and has since gone on to collaborate with Sportsgirl and headspace to create the Proud Love tote bag — a vibrant celebration of love within the queer, POC community. Tanaya was named a dual winner in the Business, Employment and Social Enterprise category — an incredible milestone in her creative journey. You can learn more about the Proud Love project here.
The evening’s proceedings were opened with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony delivered by Liam Kilner, Narungga man and former Aboriginal Peer Practitioner at headspace Onkaparinga.
Local State Minister, Nat Cook, officially closed the evening, congratulating all award recipients and highlighting the newly released SA Youth Action Plan 2025–2028, which outlines key priorities for young people, including a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing.
It was a night filled with pride, community spirit, and a powerful reminder of the positive change being driven by young people across Onkaparinga and beyond.
Learn more about the services available at headspace here.