Young First Nations Change Agents

The Uluru Statement from the Heart says, ‘When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.’ First Nations youth under 25 represent 51.2% of Australia’s First Nations population, and are the future Custodians of Country and Culture. Young Change Agents works alongside communities, taking a strengths-based approach, to support their goals to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs. Our work builds on and extends entrepreneurship as a concept and practice that has existed in First Nations communities for thousands of years.

AN INTERGENERATIONAL APPROACH TO FIRST NATIONS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

January 2023 saw Young Change Agents complete the 18 month, nationwide Lighting the Spark Program - funded through the Federal Government's Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship Grant.

This iteration of Lighting the Spark was an intergenerational social entrepreneurship program that engaged First Nations girls aged 14-24. Female First Nations leaders led the way as facilitators, role models and mentors. We worked closely with 4 regional partners: Djaagan Djagi (QLD), Canberra Indigenous Business Network (ACT), Kimberley Jiyigas (WA) and Following In Her Footsteps/ Waves of Change/ Savanna Solutions (NT). Together, we codesigned a culturally nuanced approach and trained 22 local First Nations facilitators, who then delivered design-thinking based entrepreneurial workshops to girls and women across WA, NT, ACT and QLD. The project extended the 18 months of codesign with First Nations youth that began in 2019-20, which resulted in the “Lighting the Spark in our Future Leaders” report launched in NAIDOC Week 2020.

This initiative reached 558 women and girls across Australia. 37 programs were delivered across 15 geographic locations in the four States and Territories.

Future of Food for First Nations Girls
We co-designed with Food Futures a "First Nations Lens" version of our Future of Food design challenge. Tailored for First Nations audiences, this version ensures the content is relatable and addresses culturally relevant issues.

Additionally, we offered three-day co-delivered program with Food Futures. From Jan-Jun 2024, 32 young people and 5 educators from two schools in SA and QLD participated. Four of the participating teams Design Challenge ideas were announced as finalists! were announced as finalists! The initiative has been extended to an additional 3 schools to participate from Jul - Dec, 2024.

City of Greater Geraldton Empowering First Nations Youth
From November 2023 to April 2024, 18 First Nations young people and 8 educators from Champion Bay Senior High School, Nagle Catholic College, and Mullewa District High School participated in funded Discovery programs, supported by the City of Greater Geraldton. During the programs, some young people chose to concentrate on their local mobs and communities, devising social enterprise solutions to address issues pertinent to them and their local communities.