Young Innovators From Bowen Head To Brisbane For National Finals

Clementine and Lily pitching Panora to the Mayor Photo Credit: Bowen State High School

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Young innovators from Bowen State High School are making their way to Brisbane this week to represent their app Panora on the national stage for the 2026 Future Anything Impact finals.  

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Their community-centred app has become one of the top 30 projects out of 1700 applicants across Australia.  

Clementine and Lily were inspired to develop Panora after identifying a gap in their community’s ability to voice concerns and drive change. They wanted to create an accessible platform that would connect community ideas with the people who have the power to make a difference.  

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“It just came to us if we had an idea for our own community, we wouldn’t really know where to put that forward, and how we would get it to the people that we know can do something about it, and we were just like, this is something that we could really change,” Clementine said.  

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Panora aims to shift the power dynamic by giving the community a greater ability to catalyse the change they want to see.  

Bowen State School Principal Robert Harris championed the girls' app idea, sharing that existing council platforms are rigid and hard to create change.  

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“This is about someone putting an idea forward to then generate interest, rather than waiting for someone like the council to put their survey out to get feedback,” Robert said.

“An app like this, it's streamlining those ideas, and you know where the ideas are coming from, and you know who you're representing, and that the people in your community actually want this.” Robert shared

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Having grown up in Bowen, the girls understand the needs and challenges facing rural communities.  

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“I feel like, especially within the rural communities, that we don't have as much say as, like, the bigger cities,” Lily shared.

Clementine and Lilly went a step further and tailored the app to fit young people, encouraging their peers to get involved in community issues and petitions.

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“Teenagers and young people are used to expressing their ideas on social media, but when you express your ideas on social media, they just sit in a comment section of a post. They don't go to anyone; they don't become real-world change,” Lily explained.

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The school recently received a Community Support Program funding sponsorship through Whitsunday Regional Council. The Gold Sponsorship will support the students throughout the 2026/2027 financial year.

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“Financial support from the community and parents is what makes this happen. And again, that's a huge thing for a state school, where we're not getting all the money compared to private schools that can do these things,” Robert said.  

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The students shared that it wouldn't have been possible without teachers like Miss Falmer and Miss Morgan, who provided support whenever they needed it. Combining the intellect of the girls and the support from the Bowen community, the app will be hitting the charts in no time.