Tag / #youthinag

by Lynne Strong

🌏💡 Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders: The Impact of Action4Agriculture’s Young Environmental Champions Program 🌟👫

In an era defined by global challenges, Action4Agriculture’s Young Environmental Champions (YEC) program stands as a beacon of transformative education for primary and secondary school students.

This innovative initiative empowers young minds to be effective communicators, critical thinkers, and leaders capable of tackling pressing global issues. Partnering with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the YEC program is a 10-week action learning journey that combines in-person and online workshops, leadership coaching, and mentorship, actively pairing students with community experts as role models and workshop co-hosts.

Empowering Through Education:

The YEC journey covers a diverse range of topics, including SDGs, team building, project management, design thinking, systems thinking, and community action planning. The program guides students to investigate global issues, appreciate diverse perspectives, communicate effectively, and take action on matters vital to them. With a youth-led and co-designed approach, the YEC program creates an environment where students become architects of their own learning experience.

Real-World Impact:

The success of the YEC program is evident in the array of impactful projects undertaken by students. From sustainable fishing and waste management to mental health improvement and climate action, these young environmental champions are reshaping communities. For instance, Hamilton Public School’s “People Power” project, focusing on SDGs 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and 13 (Climate Action), promotes people-powered modes of transport to enhance community health. Meanwhile, St Joseph’s Lochinvar won in the secondary section with a flood mitigation project aligning with SDGs 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and 15 (Life on Land).

Measuring Impact:

A comprehensive evaluation conducted by Danielle Blenkhorn from Sustainable Schools highlights the profound positive impact of the YEC program. Read the report here 

 

Key findings include:

  1. Dynamic Leadership Development:
    • The program serves as a dynamic leadership initiative, motivating students to become agents of change.

  1. Deepened Understanding of SDGs:
    • Participants develop a deeper understanding of the SDGs, with a notable increase in knowledge levels by the program’s completion.

  1. Enhanced Skills and Wellbeing:
    • Students report increased 21st-century skills, including heightened confidence in areas promoting resilience and wellbeing.
    • Improvement in communication skills, teamwork, problem-solving, and project planning.
  2. Positive Changes in Student Actions:
    • Participating students report changing thoughts and actions on sustainability, including increased knowledge, improved skills, and empowerment to take individual and collective action.
  3. Notable Confidence Boosts:
    • Substantial increases in students’ confidence levels observed across various areas, such as seeking help from teachers, developing school project plans, and contributing to community improvement.

  1. Transformational Impact on Students:
    • Anecdotal evidence highlights the program’s transformative impact, leading to increased engagement, confidence, and personal growth.

In essence, the Youth Environmental Champions program is not merely an educational endeavor; it’s a catalyst for positive shifts in attitudes, confidence, and proactive engagement among the participating students. As these young minds graduate from the program, they carry with them the skills and mindset essential for shaping a sustainable and resilient future. Action4Agriculture is sowing the seeds of leadership, and the Youth Environmental Champions are poised to reap a harvest of positive change.

#YouthLeadership #EnvironmentalChampions #Action4Agriculture #SDGsInAction #TransformativeEducation #FutureLeaders #GlobalChangemakers #SustainableFuture #YouthEmpowerment #InnovationInEducation #ResilientCommunities #ClimateAction #CommunityEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #YouthInAg #PositiveImpact #EducationForChange #InspiringLeadership #EmpowerTheFuture #SustainabilityJourney #YouthVoice #21stCenturySkills #CultivatingLeadership #YouthAction #ChangemakersInTraining

 

by Lynne Strong

Leadership is Language with Cathy McGowan AO and the Youth Voices Leadership Team

In this episode of Leadership is Language Lynne Strong, in conjunction with a Youth Voices Leadership Team panel of Dione Howard, Jo Newton and Tayla Field, hosts an insightful leadership expose with former federal politician Cathy McGowan.

Watch Cathy share her tips for being an effective leader here

Key Messages

  • Agriculture has enough leadership programs; we need people “doing” the leadership
  • Start with the end in mind
  • Harness your networks and your team

 “In north-east Victoria we used to export our young people [to the cities]. Now there is a buzz in the community. Young people are wanted and respected. There is lots of energy and a sense that this is a place where young people want to live.”

 About Cathy

In 2013, Cathy McGowan broke the Liberal/National Coalition’s hold on the seat of Indi, becoming the first independent member for the north-east Victorian electorate and the first female independent to sit on the parliamentary crossbench.

She entered federal parliament on the urgings of young people from her electorate and in doing so brokered a new way of community politics. Her memoirs were recently published in Cathy Goes to Canberra, an inspiring tale of the power of grass-roots activism.

Cathy believes young people have the ability, articulation and creativity to make their vision for Australia a reality.

Connect with Cathy:

 LinkedIn: 

Twitter: 

Email: 

About Lynne and the YVLT

Lynne Strong is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Picture You in Agriculture. Part of her vision is to see the young people who participate in our programs have the opportunity to be surrounded by role models and turn the leadership skills and knowledge they learn into daily habits. This vision is crystallised in the Youth Voices Leadership Team, where young people design and direct their future. Dione Howard is the team’s vice-chair, Jo Newton is the returning officer and Tayla Field sits on the Innovation Hub.

Want to know more?

Read our previous blog here 

Read more about Cathy and order a copy of her book here

 

 

 

by Lynne Strong

Turning up, Speaking up and Stepping up to Leadership with Cathy McGowan AO

Cathy McGowan AO entered federal parliament on the urgings of young people from her Victorian electorate of Indi, and in doing so brokered a new way of community politics. Her memoirs were recently published in Cathy Goes to Canberra, an inspiring tale of the power of grass-roots activism.

In 2008 Cathy attended Kevin Rudd’s 2020 Summit, where four keynote speakers, under 25 years of age, talked about their vision for Australia.

“I was stunned by their ability, by their level of articulation, by their creativity, by their vision for Australia and the thought that they’d given to their presentations. My biggest take away from that summit was that older people, such as myself and most of the attendees, in fact needed to pay attention to young people in our community. They knew things that we baby boomers did not. They certainly were better educated and had new approaches that could find the answers to the problems we were facing….. I made a firm commitment to pay attention and get to know the young people, not only in my life, but in my work,” Cathy says in her book.

In keeping with her commitment to young people as Australia’s future Cathy jumped at the chance to share her wisdom with our Young Farming Champions. She spoke openly to the cohort via a zoom conference, hosted by Lynne Strong in conjunction with a Youth Voices Leadership Team panel of Dione Howard, Dr Jo Newton OAM and Tayla Field.

Cathy covered many aspects of the leadership pathway such as creating time budgets, life-long learning, the importance of networking, the power of finding, and supporting, your tribe and of having confidence in the skill set you have already developed. If these things sound familiar it is because Cathy’s wisdom mirrors closely the visions and ideals of Picture You in Agriculture.

Cathy has a passion to liberate people to be leaders and empower them to grow in confidence. She believes we have enough leadership training programs in agriculture and what we now need is more people “doing” leadership. And she believes the YFC have the skills and salutes them for Turning Up, Speaking Up and Stepping Up to develop their courage muscle by practicing the knowledge and skills they learn in training by being the face of our in-school programs The Archibull Prize ( secondary schools) and Kreative Koalas ( primary schools )” she says.

The workshop was well received by the audience:

“I appreciate Cathy’s easy going, positive nature and her efforts to continually develop her skills. I enjoyed learning it’s okay not to know the exact right path to take, to step up to challenges, build resilience and have a go.” Steph Tabone

“Time budgeting is such an effective tool, particularly making time for exercise and other important tasks that may not be labelled as “work” but are essential in creating a successful, balanced life.” Elizabeth Argue

“I appreciate that Cathy has put herself out there to achieve all that she has so far, and from the workshop I realise we need to do the work and find a team to do the work with.” Dione Howard

“I appreciate the openness with which Cathy has shared her story so that we can all learn from her experience.  I found Cathy sharing her story of leadership versus stepping up as a visible leader particularly helpful.” Jo Newton

The Zoom recording of Cathy’s three tips for being an effective leaders can be found here

The zoom recording of the panel session will be loaded here shortly. Watch this space