Youth Leading The World Coffs Coast Gather To Plan Action On Social Change
By Andrea Ferrari, News of the Area - Modern Media - July 2, 2023
Youth Leading The World (YLTW) Coffs Coast, organised by OzGREEN, takes place 9am-4pm Wednesday 12 July to 9am-4pm Thursday 13 July at The Link, Toormina.
The YLTW gathering is a free two-day event bringing together young people aged 12 to 25 who are interested in the environment and sustainability.
Facilitated by the YLTW team they will tackle local and global challenges such as energy, food, biodiversity, water quality and climate change and plan together about how they can lead positive social change.
Fully catered, this is a free event funded by the NSW Government through the Regional Youth Investment Program.
The workshop-style event is an opportunity for young people to share their concerns about things that affect them locally as well as more global issues.
Sue Lennox AM, Co-Founder OzGREEN and Founder of Youth Leading the World told News Of The Area, “For the participants it can be a game-changer for them to hear another young person’s views and challenges.
“Often, we hear from young people that it’s the first time they feel they’ve been heard.
“We quite deliberately create this space for them to be really listened to, and then to find their own voice; it is so exciting to see them come alive,” she said.
An important part of the event is the participatory process with the facilitators where the young people identify their biggest social concerns and develop a vision.
“Once they have the vision, we ask them how they can create change, and what can they actually see themselves doing?”
The aim is for participants to come out of the experience with a plan for what they want to do and their first steps.
“Everything is developed by the young people, in their words and with a clear plan of action,” said Sue.
The final hour of the event is devoted to a youth-led community forum where the participants report back.
“It’s just amazing to see these amazing young people who were shy and uncertain when we first met, standing up before adults, clearly stating their case.
“In our recent YLTW event at Tweed Heads, a young man came back with his views as a rap.
“It was amazing; he didn’t mince his words,” said Sue.
YLTW is a program founded by Sue in 2009, which came from OzGREEN’s ongoing commitment to enable young people to find how they can make a difference in the world.
An evolution of the original program, “we’re now training local people to facilitate the training in their own region,” she said.
What this means for the young people in 2023 is that they can be part of the presenting team at bigger events.
“If they would then like to, they can step up and run a congress as part of the global program that we’ll be running later in the year where young people from all around the world will be telling their story.”
For more information about YLTW Coffs Coast please contact Kaleb Ross, OzGREEN’s Youth Activities Coordinator, at kaleb@ozgreen.org.au or phone 0403 295 638
Find out more and register for this event (registrations essential) at www.ozgreen.org/yltwcoffs