The first live event of the e-Festival of Ideas was held on May 6th, at  the Vibewire Enterprise Hub.
5 amazing young women form 5 NFP orgs, spoke for 5 minutes each about innovation within their respective organisations and the value of youth movements to create meaningful social change.

- Sara Haghdoosti, Recruitment Director of The Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s , whose mission is to build a generation-wide movement to solve the climate crisis by uniting diverse youth organisations around this common challenge.

- Liz Moorhead, NSW State Director of The Oaktree Foundation’s , which is an aid and development organisation run entirely by volunteers under 26. The Oaktree FOundation runs numerous programs and projects locally and overseas to help bring an end to poverty. Click here to view Oaktree’s video.

- Sophie Weldon, Young Entrepreneur spearheading Youth for UNHCR and Special Youth Representative for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) an organisation whose mission is to raise awareness amongst Australian youth about the work of the UNHCR and the plight of Refugees worldwide.

- Emma Rochford, Executive Director of Youth Challenge Australia,  who provide opportunities for young Australians to volunteer in grass roots development work overseas, through collaborative and sustainable work with local communities. Click here to view the slideshow from the presentation.

- Katie Bradel, Australian representative for Invisible Children. The movements’ mission is to evoke compassion and raise money around the world to support war affected children in northern Uganda. Click here to view the grueling video.

Insightful and powerful discussion took place on the night. All agreed that the desire for equality was the driving force behind their respective causes. When asked why youth movements are so important, there was consensus that young people generally have an attitude of anything is possible, and that their hope and optimism is the critical ingredient to tackling some of the worlds most critical problems. When a young person witnesses tragedy or outright human rights violations they are more likely to tap into their compassion and sense of justice and want to do something about it. It is hard for somebody to watch the Invisible Children’s The Rescue video and not attach themselves to the cause and want to do their part to bring peace to that part of the world. The important thing is that opportunities to do just that, are made widely accessible. The work that Oaktree, for example, are doing through their Schools 4 Schools program, allows young Australian school-goers to become change agents in assisting to eradicate child slavery. The idea is not to tell young people what to do, or which cause to get behind, but rather to give them pathways and opportunities for engagement. When a story resonates with them, they will willingly jump on board to help.

Congratulations to these five truly remarkable women making a profound and lasting change in our world. Their vision and passion is truly awe inspiring.

The video from the night will soon be available for viewing.