Stand Tall TEDx style event looks to stop at Cobargo during 2022 regional tour

On February 15, the Stand Tall team and its co-founders made a visit to Cobargo to assess whether the Cobargo Showground could host the large scale event.

The Stand Tall team met with with representatives from the showground and local youth groups on the day, to plan and discuss the likelihood of hosting it at Cobargo, ahead of their visit in November 2022.

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Stand Tall CEO and co-founder Jeanine Treharne said she felt "honoured" to bring the event to the South Coast following the challenging times the local communities have been through.

"We're very excited and honoured to be able to do this because we know what this community has been through, its been a shocking time and there's still a lot of recovery to be made," Ms Treharne said.

"So we're really looking forward to being able to bring huge levels of hope, positivity and support to not only youth along the South Coast but the entire community."

The Stand Tall talks are an all day event, catered for students aged 11 to 18. The speeches will pass on lived experiences that hope to teach students skills in resilience, strength to stand up to bullying, keys to motivation and the power of perspective.

Although subject to change, the Stand Tall has seven guest speakers lined up for the regional tour.

These currently include Nicola McDermott, Glen Gerreyn, Bella Taylor Smith, Lance Russell and Ryley Davis, Michael Crossland and Tony Hoang.

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"We bring together speakers in their twenties and thirties who have been through hard times and show what skills they have gained to come through and live a really fulfilling life, " Ms Treharne said.

"Some have gone through bullying, some depression and many just wanted to give up on life in their teens but pushed through and they'll tell their stories of how they did that."

Ms Treharne said since the Stand Tall was originally founded in 2012, they've had increasing popularity and have grown exponentially.

"Look we get people writing to us year after year saying 'you changed my life today' and we had 80 per cent of students feeling more hopeful about their future after the Stand Tall Sydney event," she said.

The Stand Tall regional tour was made possible from the support of Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor, and NSW government funding.

Ms Treharne encouraged all schools across the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla shires to bring their students along for the 'once in a decade' event.

"It would be such a shame for us to come and do all this work and for any year group to miss out. Because if they miss out, and we don't come back for 10 years, they've missed their chance," she said.

Ms Treharne said the event is open and extended to all youth in regional communities and isn't limited to enrolled students only.

Ms Treharne said the Stand Tall Marquee tent will be able to cater for a large crowd and can fit 8000 people, but the seating will be reduced depending on the number of bookings made.

"We'd love to fill the tent, there's no limit. So if we could get every school within two and a half hours to bring their entire school, then they will have the best time and it will be life changing for them," she said.

"We really want the South Coast to make the most of it because we don't know when we'll be back."

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