LEADERSHIP
ACADEMY
WHAT IS THE
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY?
YouthWorX NT believes that youth participation is essential to the delivery of quality services for young people. In its facilitation of a youth Leadership Academy, the organisation provides young Territorians with meaningful opportunities to directly participate in the services designed to support them.
The Leadership Academy is a mechanism to authentically engage young people and embed their voice by providing leadership opportunities to contribute to service design, service delivery, community engagement and local and national policy advocacy. The Leadership Academy empowers its young members to collaborate with their peers, inspiring and mobilising themselves and others towards a common purpose and to effect positive change.
YOUTH AMBASSADOR ACTIVITIES
Leadership Academy members are regularly called upon to represent young local people and YouthWorX NT. Examples of past Youth Ambassador activities include:
- Team participation in a focus group exploring services for young people with a disability in the NT, hosting the Disability Discrimination Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission
- Ernest Isaac acting as the 2020 National Saffron Day youth ambassador, promoting people registering as organ donors on the national register
- Ernest Isaac performing duties as Darwin’s Youth Ambassador for the visit of HRH Prince Edward and Mr Peter Kaye AM, CEO Duke of Edinburgh Award
- Caitlin Brynes representing the Leadership Academy and the experience of young people at the May 2019 National Employer Reference Group meeting in Sydney
- Tedisha Bush visiting Canberra for the 2019 Community of Practice meeting, speaking with Members of Parliament regarding youth services
- All active team members representing young people at NT’s Parliament House for the celebration for the International Day for People with a Disability in December 2019
- Multiple formal and informal conversations with YouthWorX NT management and NT and Australian Government representatives
- Team members representing YouthWorX NT and its Transition to Work service at the annual Skills, Employment and Careers Expos.
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
OBJECTIVES
1. Youth Ambassador Opportunities
Provide opportunities for young Leaders to represent YouthWorX NT and other young people as Youth Ambassadors to contribute to the shaping of positive community perceptions, and to contribute to youth services design, service delivery, community engagement and policy advocacy.
2. Develop Young Leaders
Provide opportunities for young Leaders to develop personal and professional skills which emphasise social and emotional competencies including self-awareness, collaboration, empathy and relationship-building.
3. Community engagement
Support young Leaders to work on projects that promote the strengths, talents and stories of young people, including projects aimed at effecting positive change in the community. Offer authentic opportunities for young leaders to make decisions and effect change, in an environment of support in which young people can reflect on their experiences.
PROJECTS
DARWIN PRIDE WEEK
NATIONAL YOUTH ALLIANCE
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
Our Heroes
Thomas’s Story
In early 2024, Thomas commenced with our Career Launchpad program, eager to develop his independence and secure meaningful employment after recently graduating Year 12.
Jessica’s Story
Jessica is a Warlpiri and Gurindji woman from Kalkarindji currently living in the Darwin region. Jessica is profoundly Deaf from an acquired brain injury,
Byron’s Story
Before he started in Transition to Work, Byron had been trying for over two years to find a career pathway that was meaningful to