The Youth Action Hub in Australia officially launched on 12 August 2019.
The event "Youth: Catalyst for Sustainable Change" was held in the Melbourne CBD at Herbert Smith Freehills and fittingly overlapped as a celebration of the United Nations International Youth Day.
As Australia’s first Youth Action Hub the launch was a call to action on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the key priorities for the Hub is to promote the 17 global goals and create a space that will inspire youth to take constructive action on these goals.
Almost 70 of Melbourne’s young and creative changemakers attended the launch. The Hub was pleased to have the support of some Members of Parliament, Diplomats, the City of Melbourne and private sector figures who were also in attendance.
It was a night filled with conversations about creating sustainable change and forming connections and collaborations. The launch featured three key speakers, Josh Firmin, Lorna Deng and Del Jordan, all of whom have set up social enterprises which are in line with the SDGs ranging from climate change, poverty and decent work and economic growth.
In keeping with the theme of thinking globally and acting locally, the Hub commenced operating in April 2019 and has already participated in several events to promote the SDGs, take a stand on climate change and now organising a hackathon.
The Melbourne Hub is formed by a group of young Melburnians who are invested in contributing to positive outcomes for their community. The diverse range of members from lawyers, business, to those working in the sustainability and public sector is a testament to what we can achieve when the community comes together for a common cause.
UNCTAD Youth Delegate Rukaiyah Abdullah is the Coordinator and she is supported by Beau Arnfield and Tina Kuek. All three attended UNCTAD Youth Forum in Geneva in October 2018.
Achieving the SDGs by 2030 requires momentum, and partnerships with stakeholders in the community is key. The next step for the Hub is to recruit new members to join this team of changemakers. We are excited for what’s to come!
The Youth Action Hub Initiative has been created at the second Youth Forum of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, in October 2018. It is linked to the “for youth, by youth” platform that UNCTAD created under the name of UNCTAD Youth Network and operates with UNCTAD’s support. It empowers youth to share their views on trade and development issues through a global platform and enables them to take action locally as game changers in their communities by setting up sustainable development goals related projects.
