Each year in Melbourne as part of National Youth Week Minus18 presents the Same Sex Gender Diverse Formal, with more than 500 students attending from Melbourne, Victoria and around Australia. This unique event provides the opportunity for same sex attracted, gender diverse, and intersex young people aged 21 years and under to attend a formal dance with a same sex partner, allies and friends in a safe and strictly drug and alcohol free environment.

JOY 94.9, in partnership with Minus18 and SYN Media, are proud to present this highlights package from the 2016 formal.

Special thanks to the team who recorded these interviews: Simon Chitre, Hannah Whelan, Shay Bedel, Michael Kean, Cassandra Wright, and the show’s producer and editor, Ti Butler.

This program features music from Melbourne band Ghost In The Machine, who performed at the Formal. You can find them online at SoundCloud and Facebook. Their new EP Seasons is out soon.

This project was made possible through funding from the Department of Health and Human Services 2016 National Youth Week Grants. It was made possible with the support of Minus18 and can be heard on stations around the country on the Community Radio Network.