International Youth Day 2020

12 August, 2020

It’s International Youth Day 2020, a day of awareness to draw attention to youth issues locally, nationally and worldwide.

The 2020 theme “Youth Engagement for Global Action” highlights how engaging young people can enrich and enhance communities and organisations.

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council knows that the Land Rights movement needs strong young leaders to continue the work done on behalf of Aboriginal communities in NSW.

Encouraging young people to join their Local Aboriginal Land Councils, assisting them to build their skills and actively participate in their communities is crucial to the network’s sustainability in the years to come.

The NSWALC Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) represents the nine NSWALC regions in NSW and provides advice and recommendations to Council on issues impacting young Aboriginal people.

The YAC has identified broad issues relevant to each region, such as education and employment opportunities, mental and physical health, safe and affordable housing, identity and culture.

They meet regularly to discuss how youth-led community-based strategies can respond to those issues, engage young people and help build them up to become future leaders in their communities.

YAC members had a taste of international advocacy and an opportunity to develop their shared leadership skills when they travelled to Geneva in 2019 to attend the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

They advocated on issues affecting young Aboriginal peoples in NSW, including access to education, housing, and the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Engaging youth for global action is meaningful, ongoing work in the Land Rights network and the NSWALC Youth Advisory Committee aims to create a positive ripple effect among young Aboriginal people in NSW.

You can find out more about each of the YAC members here.

Acknowledgement

We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of the lands where we work as well as across the lands we travel through. We also acknowledge our Elders past, present and emerging.

Artwork Credit: Craig Cromelin, from a painting he did titled, "4 favourite fishing holes". It is a snippet of his growing years on the Lachlan River, featuring yabby, turtle, fish and family.

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