The Foundation for Young Australians at the Social Change Makers Festival

At Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) we believe an important lesson in life is that you can make a difference no matter who you are or where you come from. We provide a national platform of respect and opportunity for the best ideas and actions that young Australians have to offer.  All young people have the courage, imagination and will to shape their education and create social change. FYA sees social action is a pathway to making that difference and, for a young person, change making can be anything from volunteering at the local sporting grounds; starting a recycling program in the school tuckshop; or founding a youth led social enterprise. 

FYA, as hosted by the Social Change Makers Festival, are inviting 20 young Change Makers to attend a full day program of workshops aimed at building networks and developing enterprise skills within the context of grassroot social innovation.  “We want these young people to go on a journey that unleashes their innovative ideas and accelerates them into the Australia change making landscape”, Jan Own FYA CEO.

The Workshops

Friends and industry partners of FYA are joining in to help facilitate a series of workshops during the “Youth Action Day” at the Social Change Makers Festival.

Workshops will take place between 2pm and 5pm April the 19^th at The Weave Arts Centre. Four 40 minute sessions will be facilitated by members of the not-for-profit and business sectors, learning will include strategic thinking, storytelling, positioning, reinvention, innovation and will feature a panel of FYA Young Social Pioneers.

FYA will be conducting workshops specifically for the successful 20 applicants, however, are inviting the general public to listen and learn too; or, take a more active role in collaborating alongside our young people. No matter how you see it Festival goers will be introduced to the work of FYA, interact with some of Australia’s brightest and most creative young minds, and experience social innovation in action.

Workshops will culminate in an after-hours PitchUp event showcasing and celebrating the young Change Maker ideas – seed funding will be awarded!

PitchUp

PitchUp is an FYA pitch competition open to individuals and teams with big ideas for how to make a difference in our world. Entrants will be champions of campaigns, social innovations or social enterprise ventures that seed funding could help to ignite.

PitchUp at the Change Makers Festival invites the 20 young participants to prepare a 500 word proposal outlining their idea before pitching to a large audience and the PitchUp panel of judges.