MENTAL health advocate Pritika Desai took out the Darwin Council's Young Australian of the Year prize at the Australia Day Awards yesterday. 
Pritika was awarded the title for her work as founder of ShoutOut, a project focusing on normalising conversations about youth mental illness and empowering young people to seek support for mental health issues.
"It was such an honour to be nominated for the award, and then to win, that, of course, is a privilege as well," she said.
"I think there's a lot more conversation happening in the community [now] around mental health issues and mental illness." Council on the Ageing NT won the Community Event of the Year award for its Seniors Expo, which included 80 stallholders and attracted more than 800 patrons.
"Often we feel like we're punching way above our weight but I think this award has recognised the effort all the staff put in," CEO Graeme Bevis said.
"Seniors make a magnificent contribution to the Territory economy and this award will take pride of place in our office." Darwin Citizen of the Year went to Margaret Clinch, for her work with Plan, an organisation that advocates for better urban and rural planning. The ceremony was hosted by Lord   Mayor Katrina Fong Lim and was part of the Australia Day Council awards program.