YouthSPEAK International

YouthSPEAK International is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2003, which aims to give people aged 13-25 a platform to share their views with government. It is based in Queensland, Australia.

YouthSPEAK International Aims

YouthSPEAK International aims to give young people aged 13-25 a platform to voice their views on local, national and international issues. Being of the view that governments often do not give young people the opportunities to openly share their views and opinions in the policy-making process, YouthSPEAK tries to provide opportunities for young people to submit their ideas and positions to governments and non-governmental organisations through effective policy formulation for consideration. YouthSPEAK also strives to raise awareness of the importance of politics, democracy and good global citizenship through education and information workshops.

YouthSPEAK aims to build a global youth network focused upon issues of politics, with the eventual aim of formulating policy. YouthSPEAK believes in empowerment via education and participation, in order to encourage cross-cultural understanding, cooperation, tolerance and respect. In addition YouthSPEAK aims to foster shared work, experiences and the idea of a common future and to give articulation to the thoughts of today's youth. YouthSPEAK does not aim to represent one voice, but many voices whatever political persuasions they may be.

The Goals and Principles of YouthSPEAK

In the furtherance of the above beliefs, the organisation adheres to the following goals and principles:
# To create a global network of young people from a wide variety of cultural, national, academic and political backgrounds who appreciate open dialogue and political engagement.
# To facilitate the sharing of ideas in an environment that values diversity and fosters cross-cultural and transnational understanding.
# To empower the initiatives of young people by enhancing individual and social regard for their ideas and opinions.
# To create opportunities for young people to formulate and submit their positions and policies on local, national and international issues to governments and non-government associations.
# To motivate young people to take an interest in political issues and to enhance their leadership skills through active participation and education.
# To give young people access to reliable resources, associations and networks in order for their opinions to be diplomatic, well-rounded and well-informed.
# To educate young people on the values of democracy, good citizenship, and the inter-connectedness of the various economic, social and political factors that can motivate and direct governance.
# To facilitate an awareness of the significance of political issues in everyday life, and demonstrate the need for accountability from governments, scholars, and most importantly, the general public.
# To gauge the political issues that are important to young people and to present those issues for discussion and action.
# To support other associations and conferences in order to create a constructive inter-associational relationship that promotes dialogue and cooperation.
# To sponsor, support and participate in youth projects that will encourage the betterment of humankind.

History

In December 2003, Andrew Nguyen conceived the idea of forming an organisation that would create a global youth network focusing upon issues of politics.

During 2004, such plans to construct the organisation were temporarily shelved. Nguyen still had a year to serve as Vice-President of the United Nations Students' Association (University of Queensland). In November 2004, Nguyen then proceeded to gather a group of like-minded young people to begin work on YouthSPEAK. It was at this point that YouthSPEAK International began to shape into the organisation that it is today. After eight months of planning and co-ordinating, Nguyen and his team officially made the organisation public on 27 July 2005, and thus YouthSPEAK International was born.

Organisation

YouthSPEAK is a youth-led organisation which is based at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The organisation consists of volunteers from all backgrounds, cultures and political affiliations.

The Secretariat

*Director: Andrew Nguyen
*Treasurer: Sean Jacobs
*Secretary: Anthony Phung
*Youth Ambassador: Anna Emerson
*Social Conveyor: Maisong Yang

Recent events: At the annual AGM, Sean Jacobs was unanimously voted in as YouthSPEAK's 3rd treasurer. His two-year term will start as of immediately.

2007/8 Policy Council

*Eva Bevan (Bray Park State High School)
*Jessica Dowdell (Moreton Bay College)
*Tess Evans (Brisbane Girls' Grammar School)
*Isabella Kittel (Somerset College), and
*Eleanor Todd (Brisbane Girls' Grammar School)

Policy Committee

*Director of Policy: Sean Jacobs
*Deputy Director: Nadine Schmoll

Editorial Committee

*Editors: Maisong Yang & Robert Gallo

High Schools Committee

*Director of High Schools: Nadine Schmoll

Projects

YouthSPEAK runs a number of projects.

Active Projects

*YouthSPEAKER of the Year Public Speaking Competition - This event is held annually at the University of Queensland. YouthSPEAK's public speaking competition ultilises an entirely new format of competition, which mirrors the format used by journalists at the National Press Club. The inaugural competition was held on September 24, 2005. Jonathan White from Christian Outreach College (Queensland) received first prize.

"Past Winners:"2005: Jonathon White2006: vanessa Stokell "(Senior)"; Aman Dosanjh "(Junior)"2007: Ana Emerson "(Senior)"; Karishma Yanamandala "(Junior)"

Plans for the future: - Plans for the future of the YouthSPEAKER of the Year Public Speaking Competition will be centred around the expansion of the event down the east coast of Australia. Currently the competition is only held in Brisbane, QLD. However, YouthSPEAK plans to hold regional, state and national finals within the next two years. Currently, plans are set in place for the expansion of the public speaking competition into New South Wales and Victoria respectively.
*The Soapbox - The Soapbox is the official magazine of YouthSPEAK International. This magazine allows all young people to contribute their ideas and opinions on a variety of local, national and international issues. The magazine also consists of interviews, up to date news and a summary of the organisation's progress.

*YouthSPEAK Policy Internship Program - This program gives young people the opportunity to become YouthSPEAK's policy interns. Interns will have the opportunity to formulate policy papers on important issues of their choice. The internship lasts for the duration of a year, where by the conclusion of the program, interns will be able to submit their policy papers to governments and NGOs relevant to their topical issue. YouthSPEAK's first intake of interns commenced in July 2006.

Amendments: The YouthSPEAK Policy Internship Program was reassembled into the YouthSPEAK Policy Conference. The Policy Conference gives students and excellent opportunity to participate in groups, representing either an NGO or a Government to shape, form and amend policies which will be submitted to the relevant government or NGO's.

YouthSPEAK Policy Conference - YouthSPEAK's inaugural policy conference was held on the 28th-30th of September, 2007 at the University of Queensland's St Lucia Campus. More than 20 registered delegates came together to discuss youth suicide and prevention and Australia's refugee legislation. The final policy paper that was discussed was that of Australia's refugee legislation. The initial working paper was discussed, amended and passed. This paper will be worked on and fine-tuned by a five member policy council that was selected based upon commitment and interest. The final copy will be submitted to Governments and NGO's when work has completed.

*Project 2020 - Project 2020, is designed to answer the following question: "As a global citzien, what would you like to see occur by the year 2020?" Participants can express their opinions through a variety of platforms such as drawings, poems, stories or even movies. YouthSPEAK's online forum has also designated space for members to contribute their opinions. The eventual aim of this project is to determine which issues are most important to young people and their lives. Currently, YouthSPEAK is running an online space on its website to allow young people the opportunity to answer the proposed question.

Planned Projects

*YouthSPEAK's Political and Civics Education Program - This program is designed to raise awareness of the importance of political issues, democracy and to promoting good global citizenship. The program which focuses on six components (political systems, political history, civics culture, skills development, social participation (volunteering) and issues) is incentives based and students will be awarded bronze, silver and gold levels at the completion of each stage. A special 'diamond' level is given to those who wish to further excel in the program.

External links

* [http://www.theyouthspeaks.org/ YouthSPEAK International]