Empowering young leaders for gender equality: Plan International Australia launches Youth Impact Academy

Leading organisation for girls’ rights, Plan International Australia, is today launching a new program offering young people a chance to learn more about making change for gender justice.

Open to young people of any gender aged 15-26, the Youth Impact Academy is an online, completely free program aimed at building leadership, advocacy, and campaigning skills for young people in their fight against inequality and gender equality.

The Youth Impact Academy has been developed following Plan International Australia’s successful 12-month intensive Youth Activist Series, which since 2016 has supported almost 100 young people, including Yasmin Poole (a Rhodes Scholar and the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr Center’s Youth Influencer of the Year), Ashleigh Streeter-Jones (who made the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 list) and Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis (Australia’s 2022 Youth Representative to the UN) to create meaningful change in their communities and across the world.

Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena said the Youth Impact Academy will help to shift the gender dial for young people in Australia. “Since 2017,  years, our prestigious Youth Activist Series has been so successful in supporting young people to fight for gender equality , that we wanted to be able to offer the same support to other young changemakers,” Ms Legena said.

“Plan International Australia’s Gender Compass and Represent Us research found that young people are more likely to see gender equality as important; however, there are still some young people who reject gender equality. Our research found that 1 in 10 young people aged between 16-19, and 2 in 10 young people aged between 20-29 believe gender equality is a non-issue and that change for equality for women has gone too far.

“The Youth Impact Academy will support young people to advocate on behalf of their peers and provide them with the advocacy and campaigning tools they need in the fight for gender justice,” said Ms Legena.

Yasmin Poole, who has just completed her Rhodes scholarship at Oxford University, said: “The Youth Impact Academy powerfully supports young activists to build a world where every voice is heard and valued. In my experience, activism has preserved hope for change in my lifetime despite the injustices of today’s world. There has never been a more urgent time to nurture young people’s passion, imagination and new perspectives that will shape generations to come.”

Participants will have access to six online sessions throughout 2024-25, building skills in leadership, social impact, campaigning, media, and advocacy. The Youth Impact Academy’s first session, Intersectional feminist leadership: Leading with purpose and presence, will be held Thursday, August 1^st, from 6:30-7:30pm, and will feature Ms Ojinnaka-Psillakis Poole, Ms Poole Ms Streeter-Jones talking about their own advocacy journeys alongside Plan International Australia CEO Ms Legena, who will discuss how Plan International Australia has embraced feminist leadership principles.

For more information and how to apply visit: https://www.plan.org.au/news/stories/youth-impact-academy

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