The 2023 Queensland Global Youth Summit program is an initiative of the Queensland Department of Education and facilitated by Asia Education Foundation (AEF) at the University of Melbourne. This programme was launched at QAHS in March this year, whereby five of our Year 10 students, Naajiya Mohinudeen, Athena Hua, Sahanya Abeyratne, Yanyan Zhang and Marion Khoo, were selected to be Summit Ambassadors. These students formed part of the Student Advisory Council and were instrumental in providing insights and feedback through online meetings with AEF staff as they collaborated to co-design the program.
From here, thirteen Year 10 QAHS students, including our Summit Ambassadors, demonstrated commitment to enhancing their knowledge and understanding of global competence, perspectives and diversity by immersing themselves in the program. The Summit program included four synchronous online workshops and several asynchronous learning activities, which were delivered online throughout Term 3 and Term 4, culminating in an all-day, in-person Summit earlier this week.
The Summit brought together Year 8 to 10 students from various schools across Queensland at the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane. Here, students were inspired by entrepreneurs who have used the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a foundation upon which to build their successful businesses that are changing our world for the better. Insights from partners such as Share the Dignity, Circonomy, Oz Harvest, Mettlesome and Super Max & Bryce reiterated the importance of collaborating with others through purposeful connections in our communities in order to make progress.
It was wonderful to see our students engaging enthusiastically across the program as they gained a deeper understanding of the world they live in and applying their learning in practical ways to create positive change in their communities. Please enjoy some insights from our students below:
Sahanya Abeyratne
The Queensland Global Youth Summit was a wonderful learning experience. Not only did it allow me to meet and interact with like-minded individuals, but it also solidified my confidence in our generation's ability to make positive change in our global community. The process of preparing for the Summit developed my understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and allowed me to better understand the impact younger generations have in our community. As an individual, this process made me more mindful of my current privileges, ones I may have taken for granted otherwise. I am now aware of how to exploit these privileges as a global citizen to pursue progressive change in our community. The Summit itself presented me with the opportunity to listen to many wonderful leaders and entrepreneurs who undoubtedly changed my perception of progressive change. I have learned how small change is still change and all you need is passion and perseverance. A takeaway that I believe will be integral in my future academic and personal career would definitely be to never shy away from asking for help or helping others. Alone, we can only achieve so much. With the power of communication, team work and collaboration, so much more is possible.
Yanyan Zhang
What a valuable experience we had throughout our Queensland Global Youth Summit journey! From brainstorming ideas in the online workshops, to being able to share it with the 300 other students, teachers and learning partners across Queensland, we are grateful and excited for this opportunity to 'connect, learn and lead'. By listening to other student leaders and providing feedback on their proposed solutions to local issues in their communities, we were able to thrive and improve together. My team and I look forward to implementing our solution in the near future, thus creating an even more joy-filled, caring, and positive environment for all staff and students at QAHS.
Lakshmi Purushothaman, Marion Khoo, Nurain Vayani and Sahanya Abeyratne
On Tuesday 17th October, the four of us, along with our peers, attended the first-ever Queensland Global Youth Summit showcase at the Brisbane Royal International Convention Centre. It was a very exciting experience as we were given the opportunity to pitch our solutions for the school issues we had addressed through our previous online workshops. At the showcase, we had the privilege of listening to several guest speakers (Learning Partners) from different companies such as Mettlesome, Oz Harvest, and Super Max & Bryce.
Our first Learning Partners to present were designers, Trisha and Priyanka, from Mettlesome, who shared with us their process for solving well-being issues through an application known as Dala. Through Dala, users can monitor their well-being and keep track of their overall health and mental state.
After Trisha and Priyanka's keynote speech, we were divided into smaller groups and rotated around multiple stations where we were able to listen to several short pitches presented by several other learning partners.
Among these was Oz Harvest, an organisation that works to minimise food waste in Australia. They collect food donations at different points across Australia and deliver meals to people who need it the most. In addition to this, they raise awareness about food waste through products such as their Use It Up Tape, which allows you to distinctly mark which foods need to be consumed quickly, preventing food from going to waste due to expiry dates not being clearly indicated.
Another organisation whose pitch inspired us was Super Max & Bryce, who created special turtle-themed toys to help children with cancer. These turtle nightlights can accompany children into hospitals and chemotherapy, providing them with a source of comfort through what can be a scary and confusing experience.
Both Oz Harvest and Super Max & Bryce are not-for-profit organizations which aim to solve different global issues. Listening to their presentations, it was incredibly inspiring to see the change they have created. This motivated us to be compassionate and considerate of the world and people around us and to closely observe present issues so that we can act towards solving them effectively.
It was soon time for us to present! All four QAHS teams participated in the showcase. Our group's presentation was focused on the issue of paper waste in schools. We pitched a few solutions to this challenge, such as increasing awareness of paper consumption and advertising double-sided printing. Our long-term solution involved the introduction of recycled print paper into schools, which would lower paper production costs, and lessen our environmental impact. We hope to see these solutions implemented at our school in the future.
We also heard about solutions to issues in other schools who had problems with congestion in certain buildings, lack of mental health awareness, and lack of recycling in school systems.
Ultimately, for all four of us, the 2023 Queensland Global Youth Summit was an invaluable experience. From networking with students across different schools to hearing our Learning Partners advocate for different issues worldwide, we have all enhanced our ability to communicate and collaborate with others. We have also gained further experience in constructing practical short and long-term solutions to challenges faced by our school.
We wholeheartedly recommend future Year 10 QAHS students to participate in the Queensland Global Youth Summit Programme. It offers students a remarkable chance to make a difference in their school and community, whilst also allowing them to expand their knowledge and foster impactful change.
Marnie Chetter
Teacher of English & Student Leadership Coordinator