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If you have a media enquiry about FYA please contact:

Carlita Bevege, Communications Adviser

P 03 9670 5436 | M 0434 220 496

Media Releases

2 May 2013 - Chance for changemakers to find their tribe

Do you know an 18 to 29 year old who works with purpose and passion for a social cause?

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is searching for young changemakers to join its 2013 Young Social Pioneers program.

The year-long program, now running for its fifth year, provides 12 months of professional training, mentoring, networking opportunities and skills building for young changemakers who are ‘up to something great’.

23 April 2013 - NGO leaders congratulate Premier Barry O’Farrell, now want others to step up

Fifteen of Australia’s leading non-government community organisations have unanimously commended thePremier of NSW for his leadership in signing the National Education Reform Agreement and for putting theinterests of NSW’s young people first.

The NGO Leaders for Educational Opportunity recently signed an open letter calling on COAG members to puttheir political differences aside and deliver on school funding reform.

The group is now urging other states and territories to step up and follow NSW’s lead.

15 April 2013 - NGO leaders unite for disadvantaged students, calling on COAG to act

Fifteen of Australia’s leading non-government community organisations united for the first time today to sign an open letter to COAG calling on state, territory and federal governments to put aside their political differences and put students first.

Convened by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), ‘NGO Leaders for Educational Opportunity’ includes representatives from FYA’s Centre for New Public Education, The Smith Family, Mission Australia, Brotherhood of St Laurence, ACOSS, Public Education Foundation, Anglicare and others.

As debate rages around Julia Gillard’s proposed National Plan for School Improvement, the NGO Leaders are urging COAG members to step up and see the issue through to resolution.

“This cannot go on any longer. We cannot lose sight of what’s at stake here – the students and their future,” said Ricky Campbell-Allen, Director of FYA’s Centre for New Public Education. “Failure to act will see hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people let down.”

8 April 2013 - Change It Up, Wodonga!

Are you a young person with a passion for making a difference in your community? Do you know a teen with a big heart and an even bigger imagination? Would you like to see your community get connected and work together to create positive change?

On the weekend of May 24-25, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) and Wodonga Council are going to Change It Up – and they are looking for 20 young people to join them.

21 February 2013 - Students to be witnesses at Senate Inquiry into teaching and learning

Four students will have the unique opportunity to report their diverse education experiences to the people in power when they act as witnesses at the Senate Inquiry into teaching and learning in Sydney on Friday 22 February.

Students don’t usually get a say in their education, but the Senate Committee for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has in this instance raised their voices by making them witnesses alongside heads of NGOs, research institutes and education peak bodies.

14 November 2012 – Young Indigenous leaders take on final challenge

Five young Indigenous leaders are taking a different approach to Year 12 ‘muck-up’ rituals, spending four days undertaking a residential volunteering placement in the remote community of Angurugu, on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

19 October 2012 - WA students take top spot in national student voice campaign

Two Perth students are hanging on to first place in a national campaign that could see them flown to Canberra to grill the Minister for School Education, the Hon. Peter Garrett MP, on the education issues voted most important by thousands of young people across the country.

16 October 2012 - Education attainment highest ever – but will it be enough?

With the release of its annual How Young People are Faring report today, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is calling for more effective approaches to equip young people for a changing and increasingly uncertain labour market.

15 October 2012 - Strategic disruption wins Jan Owen ‘Australia’s most influential woman’ accolade

Jan Owen AM, CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) was named The Australian Financial Review and Westpac Group ‘Woman of Influence 2012’ on Friday night.

Australia’s 100 winners across 10 categories were chosen from more than 350 nominations for the inaugural, annual Women of Influence awards, which recognise the important contribution of female leaders to Australia’s future.

8 October 2012 – Fight against homophobia in schools goes national

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is calling on schools, educators, students and governments to join together to put the issue of homophobia in schools on the national agenda.

Registrations are now open for the inaugural National Safe Schools Symposium, run by FYA in partnership with Safe Schools Coalition Victoria (SSCV).

8 October 2012 – Students shout out on education

An online forum that brings students and politicians together launched simultaneously in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth this weekend.

Run by the Foundation for Young Australians’ (FYA) Centre for New Public Education in partnership with OurSay.org, Student ShoutOut gives young people a platform to ask questions about their education, and amplifies their voices to make sure the public and the people in power are listening.

17 September 2012 – High school students to voice their opinions on education directly to Minister Garrett

On Tuesday 30 October in Canberra, three high school students, representing thousands from around Australia, will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on education directly to the politician who counts the most – the Hon. Peter Garrett MP, Minister for School Education.

17 August 2012 – FYA selects 2012′s young leaders of social change

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) today welcomes a record 18 exceptional young Australians to its 2012 Young Social Pioneers (YSP) program.

Selected from over 130 applicants, this year’s Pioneers are enacting social change through unique initiatives across diverse sectors. Some of the impressive projects include championing rugby players against gender-based violence; creating brighter and sustainable futures for orphans in Uganda; providing support and care to those with eating disorders; and empowering Australians to open their hearts and homes to asylum seekers.

14 August 2012 – Calling the Young and Extraordinary

Know someone who’s on the cusp of greatness? Chipping away at brilliant idea for change? Doing amazing volunteer work or representing a minority and making a splash? Nominate them for Young & Extraordinary.

There are two weeks left to nominate someone or apply for Young & Extraordinary, a nationwide search for Australia’s most creative, innovative and passionate young social change makers.

10 July 2012 – Perth teens have what it takes

What does it take to succeed in life and work?

It remains a burning question for many adults, but James Archer and his classmates from Swan View Senior High School been given a head start on finding the answer.

5 July 2012 – What are the most pressing global issues in the eyes of young Territorians?

What are the most pressing global issues in the eyes of young Territorians?

Three Indigenous students from Alice Springs and Darwin are being flown to Melbourne to let Australia know.

Billie-Jo Wesley, 17, Daniel Hamilton, 16, and Jayde Hopkins, 15, have been chosen by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) to represent the Northern Territory at the 2012 UN Youth National Conference.

18 May 2012 – Young Australian of the Year appointed to FYA Board

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) announced the newest members of its Board yesterday, and two of them are under 25 years old.

Marita Cheng, 23, Young Australian of the Year 2012, and Tim Kenworthy, 22, Young Social Pioneer and founder of Useful, will join the Board’s newly appointed Chair, Robert Milliner, ensuring that young people’s voices are heard loud and clear in the FYA boardroom.

2 May 2012 – FYA’s response to Victorian Coalition Government’s 2012-13 Budget

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is pleased to see the Victorian Coalition Government allocate $336 million in the 2012-13 Budget for vulnerable children and their families.

Positive developments include the focus on child protection workforce reform, connecting vulnerable children and families to a range of much-needed services and the establishment of a Commission for Children and Young People.

FYA welcomes the establishment this commission and applauds the decision to also appoint a Commissioner responsible specifically for vulnerable Aboriginal children and young people.

21 March 2012 – Beyond Schoolies week – Foundation for Young Australians launches new rite of passage

Kony 2012 has shown a burning desire in young people to engage with social issues. The movement is youth-led, and most of the video’s 70+ million viewers have been young people. Kony 2012 has shown that teenagers worldwide do care and want to engage with social issues. But does clicking ‘like’ on a social media platform mean they are truly engaged?

5 March 2012 – More school-community partnerships to be rewarded than ever before

In 2012, NAB School’s First will reward more school-community partnerships around Australia than ever before– a total of 130 schools will be awarded a share in $3.05-million this year; 15 more schools than last year.

28 November 2011 – Young adults continue to be vulnerable in troubled economic times

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) released How Young People are Faring (HYPAF) 2011 today – the latest report in an annual series on the employment and education situation of young Australians.

Key findings include:

More than one quarter of all long-term unemployed Australians are now aged 15 to 24
Since 2008, the percentage of young Australians without a job for a year or longer has almost doubled
Despite Australia’s relative economic buoyancy, teenagers in Australia have higher rates of long-term unemployment than in many other OECD countries.

29 August 2011 – Young Australian chosen to join prestigious group of global change makers

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is celebrating its Young Social Pioneer Freeman Trebilcock’s recognition as a Global Fellow by the International Youth Foundation’s YouthActionNet® initiative, a program that strengthens, supports and celebrates the role of young people leading positive change in their country.

9 August 2011 – FYA debunks the myth that Gen Y’ers are lazy, selfish and disengaged

The Foundation for Young Australians has launched In Their Own Hands: Can young people change Australia?, a new book debunking the myth that Gen Y’ers are a homogenous group of lazy, selfish disengaged consumers.

12 May 2011 – Unleashing the brilliance of young people is everyone’s responsibility

FYA have given their support and welcomed the recommendations made in the Business-School Connections Roundtable report, Realising Potential: Businesses Helping Schools to Develop Australia’s Future.

27 April 2011 – School-Community Partnerships in Australian Schools report released

Two ground breaking reports to be released by NAB Schools First provide the strongest evidence yet that Australian businesses should be doing more to assist in achieving strong student outcomes.

23 November 2010 – How Young People Are Faring 2010 report released

HYPAF 2010 reveals that young people continue to feel the negative impacts of the global financial crisis, despite Australia’s economic recovery overall.

1 November 2010 – First interim report of NAB Schools First: Evaluation of the 2009 awards

the NAB Schools First initiative has contributed to a significant increase in strategic capacity for the enhancement and growth of partnerships beyond that envisioned before Schools First. Read full report

4 August 2010 – FYA announces 2010 Young Social Pioneers

FYA has announced the 14 outstanding young Australians who will take part in its Young Social Pioneers program, following a successful launch of the initiative in 2009.

26 July 2010 – FYA welcomes new Brumby Government support for same sex attracted students

FYA welcomes the Victorian Government’s recent funding announcements to support same sex attracted young people.

14 July 2010 – FYA appoints leading youth pioneer, Jan Owen AM, as CEO

FYA is delighted to announce the appointment of Jan Owen AM to the role of Chief Executive Officer. This appointment is wonderful news for the future of young people in Australia.

1 July 2010 – School funding can be fairer and more transparent: new report argues

A major research report released today by Education Foundation, a division of The Foundation for Young Australians, argues for systemic reform to school funding in Australia.

19 May 2010 – FYA extends its commitment to public education reform in Australia

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) today announced that it will strengthen its focus and commitment to public education reform in Australia.

29 March 2010 – Students call for broader measurement and recognition of their skills at school

Over four thousand young Australians have already joined Tell Us, the country’s biggest student campaign to change how the school system measures success.

22 March 2010 – New online resource for the youth sector

FYA launches What Works, an online resource that celebrates the work of youth-led organisations across the country and highlights best practice in running them successfully

2 February 2010 – launch of Tell Us: Are you more than your marks?

FYA launches Australia’s first national study of how young people view success at school

19 October 2009 – The Impact of Racism

FYA releases report into racism experienced by Australian young people

8 October 2009 – How Young People are Faring

FYA releases major research report

8 October 2009 – Youth Action Conference

A call to action for 500 students and professionals over two days

9 September 2009 - The Gathering

Indigenous Youth Leaders gather in Brisbane 9-12 September

28 August – Young Social Pioneers

FYA launches its inaugural social change program