Young Social Pioneers 2009

After months of searching, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has selected fourteen young people for its inaugural Young Social Pioneers program. Based on the International Youth Foundation’s global initiative, the program aims to support and celebrate the role of young people creating positive change in their communities. 

Adam Smith, CEO of FYA said, “Young Social Pioneers is about empowering socially conscious young people, who create positive change in their communities, to become successful leaders. The program offers them ideas, resources and connections that will make their great work have even more impact and sustainability.”

Modelled on the International Youth Foundation’s global initiative, the Young Social Pioneers program will provide more localised content and enable the participants to learn more about specialised areas in relation to the Australian landscape.

A previous participant in the global initiative, Richard Lenn, founder of YouthGAS said “Being a Young Social Pioneer enables you to make connections with other like-minded young people, who are trying to do things that have never been done before or trying to create opportunities that address difficult social challenges.”

The fourteen Young Social Pioneers 2009 are:

• Alissa Phillips, QLD – founder of s.p.a.c.e or ‘specialised programs and community endeavours’

• Catherine Sweeney, VIC – founder of Jungle City Massive a dance initiative for culturally diverse young people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne

• Darren Lomman, WA – founder of Dreamfit Foundation which helps people with disabilities fulfil their dreams and to raise disability awareness

• Edwin Kemp Attrill, SA – founder of ActNow Theatre for Social Change (ANTSC)

• Jack Hegarty, VIC – involved with the Whatever Youth Diversity Project and the OUTthere Rural Victorian Youth Council for Sexual Diversity

• Kat Etwell, VIC – involved in the OUTthere Rural Victorian Youth Council for Sexual Diversity

• Larissa Brown, VIC – 2008 Australian Young Environmentalist of the year and founder of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership

• Laura Iles, QLD – founder of Choose your Path (Save a Life) which educates her community about the dangers and consequences of drink driving

• Lucinda Hartley, VIC – founder of Design Leadership Project (DLP), a training program regarding environmentally responsible design and social change

• Mark Robertson, NSW – founder of One Vision Productions, an initiative that educates youth in isolated and marginalised communities through arts based multi-literacy programs

• Roxanne Moore, WA – founder of ARTillery, a social awareness project aimed at educating young Australians about human rights

• Sarah Williams, VIC – co-founder of Footprints Enterprises and the Grounded Project, a creative arts program for students primarily from refugee backgrounds

• Shona Cools, NSW – founder of Linkz Incorporated, an organisation that aims to establish connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

• Tim Kenworthy, WA – founder of Youth Tree, an initiative to encourage and involve young people to volunteer

To arrange an interview with any of the Young Social Pioneers, please contact:

To find out more about YSP, visit www.youngsocialpioneers.org.au

To find out more about IYF, visit www.iyfnet.org.au

YSP media coverage:

17 October 2009 ‘Restless warrior for the environment’ – YSP participant Larissa Brown in The Age

13 October 2009 ‘Young man with big heart recognised for his efforts’ – YSP’s Tim Kentworth in the Fremantle-Cockburn Gazette

13 October 2009 ‘Queer country honours all round’ – YSP’s Jack Hegart and Kat Etwell featured

1 October 2009 ‘Footprints Enterprise’s co-founder Sarah Williams taking big steps to tackle racism’ – YSP’s Sarah Williams in the Star.

26 September 2009 ‘School the most dangerous place for young gays’  – YSP participant Jack Hegarty featured in The Age.

22 September 2009 ‘Young pioneer was always going to help’ – YSP’s Laura Iles featured 

9 September 2009 ‘Hip Hop’s massive for Cat’ – YSP participant Catherine Sweeney featured.

Alissa Phillips

Alissa Phillips is the founder of s.p.a.c.e or ‘specialised programs and community endeavours’, a community centre with a special interest in special needs. Established in 2007, s.p.a.c.e is a place where people connect with the community through innovative, spirited and socially responsible services.

Through s.p.a.c.e, Alissa seeks to bridge the gap between social and rehabilitative services for people living with a disability as well as improve attitudes and relationships between those in the community with a disability and those without. Through her work as a guidance officer and a foster provider, Alissa’s mother taught her that despite their differences, everyone should feel they have a place.

Alissa went onto become friends with many people with disabilities and so when it came time to choosing a career path, she looked no further than the disability sector, first becoming a music therapist specialising in disability. It was while working as a music therapist that Alissa discovered that many people with disabilities do not receive the opportunities and independent lifestyle that she was used to. It was then that she decided to start s.p.a.c.e.

Alissa has overcome many challenges to continue with the success of s.p.a.c.e, most recently when the centre was damaged in the Brisbane floods. Alissa banded the team together to clean up after the devastation and get the centre back on track.

Alissa says that while working on s.p.a.c.e she has learnt that everyone is capable of making a positive impact on their community. Regardless of how one participates at s.p.a.c.e, Alissa believes that everyone is empowered to have a voice and be a part of the process. As the leadership is shared, all participants, whether they be leaders, clients or facilitators can be part of a community rather than just look in on one.

Alissa looks forward to meeting like -minded people through the Young Social Pioneers program. Alissa is hugely motivated by her cause and hopes that the Young Social Pioneers program will help her to expand on her knowledge and passion while at the same time expose her to new and exciting ways of thinking.

“When I first began my work at s.p.a.c.e I was constantly fatigued by the enormity of the task. My biggest success in leadership has been daring to have a big idea. I think, dream and talk about s.p.a.c.e every day. I feel constant gratitude for the fact I am able to do what I feel I was meant to.”

Catherine Sweeney

Catherine Sweeney is the founder of Jungle City Massive which was created in 2005 to connect and build strong relationships between culturally diverse young people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. The aim of Jungle City Massive is to promote respect, equality, knowledge and understanding and counter ignorance and racism through hip hop culture and performing arts.

Catherine first developed the idea for Jungle City Massive after travelling the world and seeing first-hand, the power that art and culture have as instigators for positive social change. Catherine saw this particularly through hip hop culture – a voice for minorities worldwide. She decided to apply these principles back home in Melbourne.

The focus of Jungle City Massive over the past few years has been to develop dance groups which bring together young people of culturally diverse backgrounds. Through Jungle City Massive, Catherine has watched proudly as her young dancers have become more confident and comfortable in all aspects of their lives.

“Their successes have tipped over into other areas and their increased confidence levels have positively impacted their school work and social lives,” Catherine says.

Of particular note is one young dancer who has been part of the initiative since it began and has now decided to study youth work as Catherine’s determination and successes have inspired her to also make a difference.

The most significant challenge for Catherine over the years has been keeping Jungle City Massive going strong without a permanent rehearsal space. Over the next two to five years, Catherine’s goal is to have Jungle City Massive incorporated as a non-profit social enterprise and find a space that the group can call home. Jungle City Massive perform at community events and festivals approximately five times each year but practice regularly every week.

“Jungle City Massive has and will always be a movement for social change through music, culture and celebration. It is a platform for culturally diverse young people living in western societies to find their place and make a difference in their community,” says Catherine.

Catherine hopes the Young Social Pioneers program can help fulfil her goal to develop Jungle City Massive to something she can do full-time.

Darren Lomman

Darren Lomman is the founder of the Dreamfit Foundation. The Dreamfit Foundation aims to help people with disabilities fulfil their dreams and to raise disability awareness in the community so that everyone has a greater understanding of the issues facing people with a disability.

Dreamfit engineers solutions to the struggles faced by people with disabilities every day. Innovations created by Dreamfit have included a hand-controlled motorcycle suitable for paraplegics, wheelchair-accessible hovercraft, modified ski boat and seated surfboard.

Darren was first inspired to start the Foundation after meeting Shane, a motorcycle enthusiast who dreamed of one day being able to ride a bike again.

At the time, Darren was studying mechanical engineering and decided to make a motorcycle for Shane as a project for his studies. What started out as a small project turned into a three year mission to create the hand-controlled motorcycle, and so began the first steps of what is now the Dreamfit Foundation.

Darren says that the focus for Dreamfit is to break down barriers so that people living with a disability can achieve a higher level of participation and inclusion. “My vision for Dreamfit is to create a world where having a disability doesn’t hold someone back from achieving their dreams.”

Just as he did when he was a student, Darren seeks to teach other young people about social responsibility and so through Dreamfit, Darren has instigated a partnership with the University of Western Australia to encourage engineering students to volunteer their time to assist in the creation of solutions for people with a disabilities.

Currently, students from the University are building bicycles for children with no arms and occupational therapy students from Edith Cowan University are also volunteering their expertise by helping to assess equipment for particular disabilities.

“At Dreamfit Foundation, we focus on promoting the strengths and abilities of people living with a disability. Our projects show the community how much is possible if people take the time to see beyond the disability to the person and see all that can be achieved with the right equipment and support.”

Edwin Kemp Attrill

Edwin Kemp Attrill is the founder of ActNow Theatre for Social Change (ANTSC). ActNow is a youth led Theatre Company that works in collaboration with professional artists and young people to create contemporary theatre projects that encourage positive social change.

After leaving school at 15, Edwin became inspired to encourage and support other young people to take charge of their lives and create alternative solutions to combat social issues. This, partnered with his passion for theatre and social change, led him to create ANTSC in February 2007.

Edwin has completed a diverse range of theatre projects, including a piece highlighting the story of David Hicks, an adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four and his latest, ‘Revolution Starts Here’. The latter two were featured at Adelaide Fringe Festivals.

Edwin has conducted hundreds of theatre workshops, working with emerging artists, young activists, people with physical/intellectual disabilities and young offenders. Edwin says ActNow Theatre for Social Change (ANTSC) aims to “develop a new generation of socially conscious theatre practitioners.”

“We seek to empower communities to use theatre as a tool for social change and support young people to develop as creative leaders in the community and arts industry,” Edwin says. “Young people have the ability, passion and dedication to use theatre as a tool for social change, and create meaningful impact in the community.”

Jack Hegarty

Jack Hegarty has been involved with the Whatever Youth Diversity Project and the OUTthere Rural Victorian Youth Council for Sexual Diversity since 2005. Both groups seek to tackle issues of homophobia and homophobic related abuse in the rural community.

As a victim of homophobia himself, Jack first became involved with the Whatever Youth Diversity Project and then with OUTthere, in the hope that he could help others suffering from homophobic abuse. “My drive comes from the hope that through the work I am helping to do, I will be able to stop at least one person from feeling as isolated and alone as I felt. If I can stop one person from being treated how I was treated, I will be happy. Anything after that would be a welcome bonus,” Jack says.

Through both groups, Jack is committed to educating and driving awareness about homophobia, particularly in regional schools.

Since the Whatever Youth Diversity Project was first initiated, Jack has assisted the group to further educate the community. He had held an information booth at ‘Youth Fest’, presented to local schools and attended the Sticks Youth Forum in 2007 to liaise with similar groups from around the state.

“Both groups I am involved with are committed to educating the wider community and advocating and supporting a minority group who often don’t have a voice; young people. We hope that our efforts will make a significant difference to the collective values and ideals of rural communities and form them into ideals that celebrate diversity and accept people for who they are, not who they think they should be.”

Jack is excited about learning as much as he possibly can during his time with the Young Social Pioneers program. For Jack, the most important goal is to put as much back into his community as he possibly can and he hopes that the program will help him to do this.

Kat Etwell

Kat has been volunteering at OUTthere Rural Victorian Youth Council for Sexual Diversity since it began in early 2008. The council is made up of youth representatives from all over Victoria and aims to raise awareness, advocate and provide information and resources to communities, youth services, schools and government departments about issues facing same sex attracted young people in rural Victoria. The council meets on a regular basis and discusses projects and initiatives that can assist groups and participants across rural Victoria.

Kat’s goal is to have representation across Victorian regional centres and a range of gay/straight alliance adopted by various youth services. But to do this she says funding is required to employ project workers and partnerships must be formed with larger organisations.

“This project is about developing safe and inclusive communities. No young person should be told no – because of their sexual orientation,” Kat says.

Kat’s drive stems from knowing that there are so many sexually diverse youths in regional Victoria who don’t have the support they need or the platform to take action on their own behalf. She believes everybody has the right to be heard and hopes to provide appropriate avenues for same sex attracted transgender intersex youth (SSATI) to raise their concerns and issues in a safe and comfortable environment.

Kat hopes becoming a Young Social Pioneer will open new doors, enable her to learn and develop for the good of her cause. She looks forward to learning of the challenges and successes of other young people.

Larissa Brown

Larissa Brown is the 2008 Australian Young Environmentalist of the year. She is the founder and executive director of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, a non profit organisation that seeks to support Australians in making their communities, workplaces and sectors more sustainable.

With a very extensive and impressive list of credentials behind her including being the recipient of the 2006 British Council award for Communicating Climate Change, the 2006 Brian Robinson Fellowship, Larissa has personally interviewed 100 of the world’s greatest sustainability leaders across twenty countries and was named one of Melbourne’s 100 most influential people and one of Melbourne’s 10 most influential environmentalists by The Age Magazine in 2007.

The Centre for Sustainability Leadership was also awarded the 2009 Melbourne Community Environmental Organisation of the Year in the prestigious Melbourne Awards presented by the Lord Mayor.

Through her work at the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, Larissa empowers young people who want to create a more sustainable world around them. Hundreds of applicants apply each year for a scholarship into the program and Larissa chooses 25. The group includes artists, lawyers and engineers and is run by nine staff and more than 50 volunteers.

Each participant in the Centre for Sustainability Leadership Fellowship creates a project to make their community more sustainable. One example is ‘Just Change,’ an initiative that promoted the energy efficient retrofitting of low-income private rental properties as the “split incentive” between the tenant and landowner was preventing energy efficiency measures from being implemented. ‘Just Change’ worked with real estate agents and property owners to get consent for retrofits, co-ordinated the installation of a range of product by accredited owners and reduce costs by combining available subsidies, rebates and extra funding. ‘Just Change’ was able to bring together The Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Sustainability Victoria and the Tenants Union of Victoria to bring energy efficiency initiatives to the private rental market and is now working with the state government to roll the program out across Victoria.

“I went to university to learn how to change the world and all that I learnt about was the problems facing it. I couldn’t find an existing program that would assist me in creating change so I created one of my own,” says Larissa who started the Centre for Sustainability Leadership in 2005.

As a Young Social Pioneer, Larissa hopes to step up her work to another level and become more effective at what she does. She hopes to learn through meeting new people that will inspire her to think differently and more productively.

Laura Iles

Laura Iles is the founder of Choose your Path (Save a Life), a program designed to educate the Warwick community about the dangers and consequences of drink driving. Laura’s mission is to inform and involve community members, specifically young people, about the dangers of driving under the influence and help to prevent the number of alcohol related incidents in her area.

In early 2009 the community of Warwick was shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of four young residents in a drink driving incident with a heavy vehicle. Laura saw how this devastated so many of her friends and family and was inspired to do whatever she could to prevent this kind of tragedy in the future. Given that roads incidents so often involve young people, Laura felt the program’s messages should be delivered by young members of the community.

Through Choose your Path (Save a Life) Laura seeks to engage young people to not only be aware of the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and driving but also educate them to be more responsible drinkers. Young people “need to realise that getting your (blood alcohol level) back to zero takes time and no amount of coffee, food, physical activity or sleep will speed up the process. They need to realise that they will be arrested and have a criminal record along with the feeling of having to live with what was caused by their actions,” Laura says. Laura relies on youth volunteers to help communicate her message and enlists their help to hand out flyers in high foot traffic areas and organise promotions in local newspapers.

Laura believes the success of her initiative stems largely from her community support and partnerships. Laura has built relationships with police, local schools, media and businesses and says that true satisfaction comes from seeing change in Warwick as a result of her campaign. Whether it be parents picking their children up from parties or offering them taxi money, Laura believes that the community is starting to be more aware of the social and personal consequences of drinking and driving.

Laura believes that her steadfast determination and her passion for the cause are what will ensure that this program will continue to grow. One day Laura hopes to encourage and inspire young people to be more socially aware not only when it comes to drinking and driving but responsible driving in general.

“As long as I stay focused and motivated I know my project of creating awareness about drink driving will continue to happen.”

Laura is hoping to expand on her skills and learn more about engaging young people to get involved to make a difference through the Young Social Pioneers program. She is hoping to meet inspiring young people who will offer interesting insights into youth activism and how to maximise its effectiveness.

Lucinda Hartley

Lucinda is the founder of the Design Leadership Project (DLP), a training and capacity building program that will be launched in 2010 and seek to mobilise students and young professionals of the built environment (including architecture, planning, landscape architecture and urban design) towards environmentally responsible design and social change.

The DLP sits within the framework of non-profit organisation Architects without Frontiers (AWF) and is a direct response to the absence of any formal training available on development architecture in Australia. Her project will involve a 6 month hands-on training program to develop a network of designers who will implement a culture of social responsibility across the design industries.

The DLP will provide opportunities for students and young professionals to be involved in international development projects and participatory design methods. It provides opportunities for networking, mentoring, project experience and knowledge sharing. At the same time it will allow local architects and communities to be part of a knowledge sharing and capacity building process and encourages creative thinking in the transition from university to the workplace.

Lucinda notes research from the UN Habitat and Dr. Paul Polak from International Development Enterprise: despite the fact that over 1 billion people living in slums and informal settlements and over half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from built structures, “90% of the world’s design resources are utilised by the richest 10%.”

Lucinda has lived extensively in South-East Asia working with NGOs on development projects to reduce poverty and improve sustainable livelihoods and is currently the Executive Officer of Architects without Frontiers.

“I am excited by the opportunity to be mentored by others. I believe mentoring could be particularly useful in understanding international development best-practice, monitoring and evaluation and improving educational quality and delivery of training modules,” Lucinda said of the Young Social Pioneers program.

Mark Robertson

As a teen, Mark Robertson grew up in a world different from most. Experiencing a teenage life in care and on the streets, Mark was inspired to create change for disengaged youth.

Now 28 years old, Mark is the founder of One Vision Productions; an initiative that educates youth in isolated and marginalised communities through arts based multi-literacy programs. It is through these programs that Mark seeks to make a deep impact on other young people’s lives.

Through One Vision Productions, Mark has been travelling to communities around Australia for the past six years running hip-hop, theatre and film production workshops for young people. Mark also recently took One Vision Production workshops to the UK where he got to see the real impact that these lessons have on young people, particularly those with special needs.

Since returning to Australia, Mark has focused his efforts primarily on the Northern Territory. Literacy is a main part of the workshops as participants learn about sentence structures, and poetic devices and preservation of culture is emphasised through Indigenous songs and stories.

Mark says that the workshops have a unique effect on the communities he visits.

“Workshops not only create happiness and empowerment for individuals, they have potential to create social change…change in motivation for education, change in ones outlook in order to gain self-empowerment and change in outlook,” Mark says.

“I want to live my life knowing that I was a part of creating a better future. I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity and to waste that would be a shame. I’m only living in this life once and I definitely want to make a difference!”

Roxanne Moore

Roxanne Moore is the founder of ARTillery, a social awareness project aimed at educating young Australians in the 13 – 25 age group about human rights. Founded in July 2008, ARTillery uses the arts to present the human rights messages, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in a fun, innovative and creative way to engage young people in human rights activism. ARTillery aims to educate and inspire young people about human rights issues and also to mobilise the artistic community in their area to work as a grassroots movement for a new and different form of activism.

Through ARTillery, Roxanne seeks to engage the young people in her community and beyond by holding a number of events throughout 2009 that target specific youth audiences. These events include the Youth ARTillery Boot Camp Summit which is being held in September and will involve inspirational speakers, seminars on Amnesty International campaigns and art-activism workshops targeted at 15 – 17 year olds. Roxanne is also organising the ARTillery Youth Arts Festival across November and December which aims to mimic the event’s 2008 successes, with over 150 attendees and 30 youth volunteers, by combining activism education with the arts through music concerts, poetry jams, plays and art exhibitions.

ARTillery was born when Roxanne and a group of passionate youths attended an Amnesty International Youth Summit meeting and began dreaming of engaging other young people to get involved with Amnesty International to defend human rights in new and creative ways. Now, ARTillery has grown to incorporate many Amnesty International schools and university groups as well as artists and other young people passionate about developing a culture of human rights understanding and action.

Roxanne draws on history to empower herself to stay focused and dedicated to her cause.

“Many artistic movements have begun as underground or grassroots developments arising out of unrest and frustration. There are more and more musicians, writers and artistic practitioners who convey their unrest or frustration with the state of the world and the many injustices that people face. The dream of the ARTillery project is that young artists will use their art to express and explore these issues to develop a culture of young people who understand and uphold the meaning of human rights.”

Roxanne is looking forward to the Young Social Pioneers program as she hopes to meet other likeminded young Australians who will teach and inspire as they bounce ideas off one another. She hopes the program will allow her to put some international perspective on her community initiative and encourage her to think in a bigger and better capacity.

Sarah Williams

Co-founder of Footprints Enterprises, which was established in 2008, Sarah Williams from Doveton in Victoria, recently implemented The Grounded Project, a mentoring program in the creative arts for students primarily from a refugee background.

Sarah was concerned about the negative media attention the Sudanese community in Australia was receiving in 2007. The aim of the Grounded Project is to promote social inclusion for refugees through the arts, such as dance, hip hop and the visual arts. All students involved in the project performed on World Refugee Day this year at an event in Dandenong. As a result of the initiative, Sarah has helped many young children from various ethnicities feel more confident and comfortable with who they are. The children have come out of their shell and the stigma surrounding these cultural groups is not so apparent in the media, but according to Sarah, there is still more to be done.

Sarah hopes that the pilot project in Melbourne will see The Grounded Project developed in other areas with high refugee populations around Australia.

As a youth worker in the City of Greater Dandenong and the City of Casey, Sarah has heard many stories of racial tension. After the events in 2007, Sarah decided to visit Sudan for herself. Accompanied by Sudanese Australians, Sarah says the experience compelled her to continue to befriend and work with refugee communities.

“Through my role as a youth worker and refugee youth mentor, I have found that refugee youth being able to tell their stories of their experience in Australia has helped other people understand what they have been through…The Grounded Project aims to foster the engagement of young people in society as they are at a critical time in their lives,” Sarah says.

Sarah has found it difficult to find appropriate people to look up to and looks forward to meeting likeminded youths and mentors through the Young Social Pioneers program. “They don’t teach you how to run these kinds of initiatives at school” says Sarah, who is excited about learning from other peoples success stories through the program.

Shona Cools

Shona Cools is the founder of Linkz Incorporated, an organisation that aims to establish connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in order to build a sense of pride in the value of Indigenous culture for all Australians.

Shona first felt compelled to create Linkz Incorporated in 2005 after visiting Yuendumu, a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory. While, her volunteer period was only meant to be three months, Shona was so moved by the people of Yuendumu that she stayed on for the year, assisting in a number of positions in education, child protection, youth work, sports and recreation.

While working in Yuendumu, Shona discovered that a barrier to change was most often a lack of knowledge among non-Indigenous Australians. It is through Linkz Incorporated that Shona seeks to educate and give other young Australians the chance to learn and experience some of the things she did while volunteering.

She encourages people to volunteer via education. The Linkz Odyssey, for example, is an eight month training and development program that teaches its volunteers about Indigenous culture and communication and working with communities to create long-term relationships. It involves placement in a remote Indigenous community and follow up activities which help these volunteers to enlighten others about their experiences.

Shona says that Linkz works to address knowledge gaps in the community.

“Linkz aims to build a more cohesive Australia by promoting the strength and diversity of our people. The creation of opportunities for positive engagement and cultural exchange is central to building harmony between communities. Enabling program participants to engage in first-hand experiences allows them to develop a true understanding of other cultures and breaks down many of the negative myths surrounding our Indigenous people.”

Shona hopes the Young Social Pioneers program will provide her with the mentoring support she needs to further develop her skills.

Tim Kenworthy

Tim Kenworthy is the founder of Youth Tree, an initiative to encourage and involve more young people to volunteer for a cause they care about.

Youth Tree seeks to bring young people and charities together by promoting volunteer work as a vital part of everyday life, and something that all young people can get involved in to make a difference.

Tim was initially inspired to start the Youth Tree initiative after undertaking volunteer work with Youth Challenge Australia in 2008. Tim, along with a group of other young volunteers, went to Guatemala to help build and teach English with local children. On his return, Tim decided to help promote the experience and encourage others to take part. He then extended his work in this area to reach out to other organisations that rely on volunteers.

Some of his work to engage young people involves arranging networking events and video nights whereby young people and NGOs can interact with and learn how they can help one another.

“I was and still am inspired by a vision of the world shared by so many change-makers, activists, and everyday people. It’s manifested in thousands of thoughts, words and actions, but for me it boils down to this: A world where everyone is actively involved in doing good things. It’s simple and realistic. I want to share this vision with other young people in particular because although we are increasingly involving ourselves in the shaping of the world, I think we still need constant reminders that what we think and do actually counts.”

Tim looks forward to learning more via the Young Social Pioneer program gaining better business skills to enable him to more effectively run his organisation.

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