UN Youth Australia is a national youth-led charity that aims to build the people’s movement for the United Nations through the education and empowerment of young Australians. Operated by volunteers ages 24 and under, it is part of the global network of United Nations Youth Associations. Each year, over 15,000 secondary school students participate in UN Youth Australia's range of peer-to-peer education programs and events.
Structure
UN Youth Australia is a federal organisation overseen by the National Executive and Board of Directors, with divisions in each state and territory overseen by independent executives. Each division is run independently and collaborate to organise national events and programs, such as the National Conference and the National Finals of the Evatt Competition.
Aims
UN Youth Australia promotes the ideals and the work of the United Nations. While these aims are similar to that of conventional United Nations Associations in advocating the United Nations Charter and educating young people about the structure and functions of the United Nations, the organisation also seeks to provide young Australians with a global education that gives them a deep knowledge of the social and political problems confronting the world and the skills to address them.
Activities
UN Youth Australia is run entirely by a team of over 1,000 volunteers, all aged 16-25.
National Activities
UN Youth Australia holds three annual national events: the UN Youth National Conference, the National Finals of the Evatt Competition, a UN Security Council Competition named after Dr H.V. Evatt, and the National Finals of the Voice Competition, a public speaking competition. Participants in these conferences are students from secondary schools across Australia. The conferences are held in Australian capital cities designated on a rotational system.
National Conference
Evatt Competition
UN Youth Australia and its state and territory divisions organises one of the largest high school tournament in Australia: the National Evatt Competition which is a UN Security Council Model United Nations competition named after the distinguished Australian politician, diplomat and jurist Dr H.V. Evatt.
Voice Competition
International Activities
In addition to domestic conferences, UN Youth Australia also operates six international tours.
Each year in January, a delegation of secondary school students tours the United States, meeting US and UN officials in Washington, D.C. and New York.
Young Diplomats Tour
Also in January, UN Youth Australia sends a delegation of 16 secondary school students to visit the United Nations Office in Vienna as part of a European tour focusing on international relations, modern history, and organisations in Europe relevant to global politics.
Timor-Leste Project
In July UN Youth Australia runs the Pacific Project which, in partnership with , arranges for secondary school students to visit development projects, meet diplomats, see NGO operations first hand, and have a chance to experience life in East Timor.
Also in July, the organisation sends a delegation of secondary school students on the Aotearoa Leadership Tour which promotes interculturalism and engagement between indigenous and non-indigenous young Australians through a tour of New Zealand focusing on Māori culture and Maori-Pākehā relations, organised in close collaboration with UN Youth New Zealand.
In 2015, UN Youth Australia began the Middle East Experience program, in which secondary school delegates tour 2 countries in the region.
Emerging Leaders Program
In 2019, UN Youth Australia launched the Emerging Leaders Program, in which 16 secondary students from all over Australia tour Japan, South Korea and China.
Divisional Activities
Divisions of UN Youth Australia also coordinate events in their State or Territory, such as annual State Conferences and divisional rounds of the Evatt Competition, educative school visits and speakers forums.
Each year since 1999, UN Youth Australia works with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to select and support a Youth Representative to the United Nations General Assembly. The Youth Representative holds an extensive, nationwide consultation tour to engage with and discover the issues that are most important to young Australians, and travels to New York as an accredited member of the Australian Mission to represent Australian youth at the United Nations.
