ouryoungheroes.org.au is a website dedicated to highlighting the efforts and achievements of young people around Australia with the aim to:
For those of you that may have missed it. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition had a spot on Master Chef last night, one of the most widely viewed shows on Australian TV. It's really great to see when initiatives by young people get into the mainstream. Check out the video.
"The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program aims to strengthen mutual understanding between Australia and the countries of Asia, the Pacific and Africa and make a positive contribution to development. The Program achieves these aims by placing skilled young Australians (18-30) on short-term assignments in developing countries in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. AYAD volunteers work with local counterparts in Host Organisations to achieve sustainable development outcomes through capacity building, skills transfer and institutional strengthening."
I dont know if it's just Queensland that does this particularly well, or other states are just not good at promoting these types of awards. But the Queensland Government has recently opened for nominations for the 2010 Queensland Young Volunteer Awards. "The Queensland Young Volunteer Awards recognise the achievements and contributions of young volunteers aged 12 to 25.
"The United Nations Youth Association(UNYA) and the Extracurricular Network of Australia(ECNA) are hosting a Q & A lecture titled 'My Perfect World and the UN's Role Within It'. You will hear from academic, youth, and political leaders who will share their vision for a perfect world and the role of the UN today."
This is a good opportunity to learn more about the UN and the role it plays, and to connect with like minded young people in Melbourne.
While ouryoungheroes.org.au has only been up for a week, we have made some good progress in that time. Of the opportunities we have promoted we have seem some really good flow through to the target websites. We've had solid interest by being wanting to support the project or join the committee. And most recently, the list of names we had are now being expanded into profile summaries.
We'd like to congratulate Jess Watson for successfully making her round the world trip. We don't see that OYH would have a focus of featuring achievements with a sporting orientation, never the less, her achievement has captured the imagination of the media and as a whole has produced a net improvement to the image of young people across Australia. She also has a mentality that is worth promoting:
Just a heads up that applications for the 2010 Brightest Young Minds Summit close soon! Make sure you put in an application:
The Brightest Young Minds (BYM) Summit is a week long summit held in Sydney that brings together 100 of Australia's Brightest Young Minds. The summit aims to help them collaborate and develop world-changing ideas that can be turned into reality. For the 100 selected, the cost of the summit is waived. Apply here
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (NSW) is a week long seminar aimed at developing further the personal and leadership skills of young people(18-27). Topics covered include fundamentals of leadership, ethics of positive leadership, importance of effective communication, problem-solving and conflict management, and building self confidence and self-esteem. It is run by both Rotary members and RYLA alumni.
Know of an outstanding young person in Victoria who should be recognised for their hard work and inspiration? Download the nomination form. Application close 22nd May 2010.
Last years winner was the Left-Right Think-Tank founder and travel-addict Thom Woodroofe (twitter).
Having just completed a fairly involved project to help Brightest Young Minds revitalise their website. I felt it time to try and set up an idea I've been talking to people and thinking about for over 5 years now.