Schools OUT Loud was JOY 94.9’s free radio training project for young LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer) people and their allies aged 15 – 25 years. Training was designed to give young people the knowledge, skills and tools to produce radio; from presenting to producing audio and podcasting.

All of these podcasts were scripted and produced by participants over the course of the project.

Thank you to all of the young people, schools, universities, community groups, youth services, teachers, parents, youth workers and guardians who made this incredible content possible.

This project is supported by the Victorian Government through the Healthy Equal Youth program.

Find out more about training at JOY 94.9 in the professional, unique and wholly inclusive environment of Australia’s only LGBTIQ+ community radio station, as well as volunteering and listening.

Our Ambassador

Jacob Thomas is a young change maker, social entrepreneur, performer, and disruptive public speaker. They are the voice of the intro and outro you hear on every podcast! After moving to Melbourne in 2008 to study at Monash University, Jacob completed a B.A in 2014, graduating with a double major in Sociology and Gender Studies. For the past three years Jacob has focused their energies in the Australian not-for profit space, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention in the LGBTIQ+ community.

Jacob has worked and volunteered across numerous fields, including aid and development, advocacy, gender equality, and currently works in the higher education sector at Monash University. Jacob has worked extensively with It Gets Better Australia and assisted in convening the 2014 LGBTIQ Human Rights Summit. In May 2015, Jacob represented Australia at the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network in Malta. Ahead of the Chief Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, Jacob was involved in developing and delivering The Gender Agenda – a contemporary recommendation of the Commonwealth’s youth voice on the next steps in achieving global gender equality.

In November 2015 Jacob was one of only two people in Australia to receive the Queen’s Young Leader Award for their work on suicide prevention in the LGBTIQ+ community.

Jacob believes in the power of young people to achieve great things, and they are a proud supporter and ambassador for JOY 94.9’s Schools OUT Loud.

JOY 94.9’s Schools Out Loud project is supported by the Victoria Government through the Health Equal Youth program. It is also made possible through the collaboration of Safe Schools Coalition Victoria, and support from the Foundation for Young Australians and MINUS18.