The Australian Government today announced that Australia will host a Youth 20 (Y20) summit next year as part of its G20 presidency. The Y20 will give young people a voice in the G20 discussions.
The Y20 will gather young leaders from the world’s twenty largest economies for an exciting exchange of ideas. It will help build skills and networks, and identify the most pressing economic challenges and opportunities facing young people today.
The involvement of youth in the official G20 program will help strengthen G20 discussions and outcomes by harnessing the energy and innovative thinking of young people.
The Government has established a Y20 Planning Group of seven young Australians to plan and manage the Australian Y20 in 2014. They will reach out to youth across Australia and the globe, and develop a Y20 process that will ensure meaningful engagement between young people and the G20 in 2014.
Members of the Planning Group were selected based on their expertise and impressive leadership skills in one or more of the following areas: youth policy, energy, development, international relations, entrepreneurship, climate change and economics.
Mr Benson Saulo, Director of the National Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy, will chair the Group, whose members are:
• Ms Samah Hadid (NSW)
• Ms Yassmin Abdel-Magid (QLD)
• Mr Scott Limbrick (VIC)
• Mr Ehon Chan (QLD)
• Ms Amanda McKenzie (ACT)
• Ms Holly Ransom (WA).
An impressive program of events is available for Australia’s young people in the lead up to the Y20, including the announcements of National Youth Award recipients in August and the Young Australian of the Year Award in January, and National Youth Week running from 4 to 13 April 2014.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for its members economic and financial cooperation. It brings together the world's major advanced and emerging economies, representing around 85 per cent of global GDP. Russia is hosting the G20 in 2013, and Australia will host in 2014, with the leaders summit to be held in Brisbane in November 2014.
G20 youth events have been held since the 2010 Toronto summit. Mexico formalised the Youth 20 (Y20) as part of the official G20 program in 2012, recognising the effect G20 decisions have on young people across the globe. Russia held an Y20 Summit in June this year, and Australia will continue the Y20 in 2014.
The Y20 is the main platform for young people across the G20 to make their voices heard on the most pressing global economic challenges. Y20 summits involve substantive policy discussions between youth from across the globe and also include social events, cultural exchange and the opportunity for delegates to make lasting connections in G20 countries.
The Russian Y20 summit was held 18-21 June in St Petersburg, in the margins of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The delegates produced a policy communique for the consideration of leaders, which covered areas such as education, climate change, energy and financial regulation.
The Australian Y20 will be organised by the Planning Group with support from the Office for Youth in the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.