Our Vision for the 2022 Youth Representative Program

Our world now

Over the past years and its events we have seen, felt, and realised that young people are well-placed to address challenges impacting their lives, demonstrated by widespread global mobilisation and youth engagement. But at the same time, our systems and structures may not provide the resources that support their participation in co-creating change. Young people are eager to go forward, forward in a way that is inclusive, accessible, and empowering for everyone without discrimination, especially for those who are consistently marginalised by society.

The Vision

In this year’s Youth Rep program, I get the honour of hearing from, learning beside and leading with youth, to understand and explore, how do we, young people (in all our diversities), envision a youth-responsive Australia? Not only do we need young people present at the table, but we also need to realise that young people have already created tables of their own, where ideas of many diverse identities and experiences are represented. My vision for this year is to find out ways (both processes and resources) to create a nation and world that makes space for our tables and our perspectives on issues, in a collaborative and community-centred approach. Together, we will understand the ‘best of what is’ and ‘areas for systemic change’, in order to facilitate discussions and hope in ‘what could be’ for Australia’s youth.

Your voices

The Youth Rep program for this year is underpinned by the principle of being driven by young people’s passions and ideas for addressing the persisting inequities they face and co-design a vision for a society that amplifies our voices, experiences, and opinions. In this appointment, I will bring young people’s collective and varying views before key UN stakeholders at the General Assembly, governments, and decision-makers, providing a space for engagement in intergenerational dialogues that will build accountability mechanisms and resources in youth affairs and further our recommendations. But what is even more importantly, is making sure that young people are not only heard from but they get to hear back. Along the way, it’s my hope to always come back to you in what I do and have you grounded within every engagement of the Youth Rep program. Why? Because nothing is more important than making sure young people are engaged in non-tokenistic ways.

Our future ahead

Young people have a plethora of expertise to offer. Most of my life has been learning to find my feet, and find a way to be me and have people like me heard. On this sacred lands that we navigate, coming to understand my journey as a second-generation Nigerian migrant, eldest sister and young carer has taken me on a path to advocating for those most disadvantaged by society. Over the past 5 years, I have personally and professionally been involved in research and advocacy across institutions and organisations that embrace all young people as experts in their own right and worked to strengthen avenues for youth partnerships and increasing investments in youth-led ideas for our inclusion and voices to be embraced. It is time now, to fortify capacity, responsiveness, trust, and collaboration as a society. By asking the young people what a youth-responsive Australia looks like, this year I hope to reaffirm young people as agents of change no matter where they are at, and potential for their transformative goals for Australia to be realised.