South Australian Youth Forum
Changing the World Today, not Tomorrow
About
Amber Brock-Fabel Founded the South Australian Youth Forum as a 17-year-old in 2021. The inaugural program was run throughout 2022 and is continuing for its second year into 2023.
The South Australian Youth Forum provides a platform created by young people for young people, between the ages of 15 to 18, to engage, discuss and debate issues of relevance that directly affect them.
All discussion is minuted, surveys are released and models of engagement are formulated, all collated in the SA Youth Forum Annual Report which gets presented to relevant agencies, organisations and politicians at the end of the year.
The 2022 Forum members have gained the appropriate skills to be part of an Executive Team to help mentor and grow the 15 new young people that have been selected for the Cohort of 2023.
'It has been my passion to establish this Forum to provide a platform for like-minded young people to come together to discuss and express their opinions on issues affecting their future. I also wanted to create a group that is run by a young person for young people'
Amber Brock-Fabel is an 18 year old Youth and Environmental advocate and is the recipient of the Governor's Student Excellence Award, Governor's Commendation Award and a double finalist for the Young Achiever of the Year Awards 2023. She has worked to advise and engage in conversations around sustainability, education and youth representation with agencies and communities. Amber was recently a panelist for the WOMADelaide Planet Talks Forum and the Adelaide Festival Climate Crisis and the Arts Event.
Our Vision
Give young people a voice
The South Australian Youth Forum provides a platform for young people, between 15 to 18, to engage, discuss and debate issues of relevance that directly affect them. By meeting once a month for the duration of 2022, the delegates are provided with an opportunity to input their opinion and views. The survey produced by the forum widens the horizon of young peoples’ voices as they are able to have a say about what impacts them.
Empower young people
Through connecting young people in the community, individuals can feel empowered. The forum aims to create a substantial change which is another key reason to feel empowered. A lot of the time, it seems that young peoples’ voices are dismissed, so by being apart of a community driven by the voices of young people, is very powerful.
Allow representation in decision-making
Through our partnership with the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia, we are able to provide direct input into some decision-making. The views and perspectives shared in each meeting are sent to the Youth Affairs Council, whose role is to represent young people to create effective change.
Connect like-minded young people in the community
The Forum connects young people from each corner of South Australia. Each come with a different background and story which is important to in our aim to represent all young people.
"Through my advocacy, I recognised the importance of the voice of young people and also understood the limited avenues for our opinions to be expressed and heard. Young people are disproportionately impacted by decisions made that we have no say in. Growing up is hard enough, but when there seems to be so much going on in the world, so many issues we have to deal with and living in a system where young people are often overlooked, it is disheartening.
As such, I had the vision to create an engaging and dynamic environment in which young people are able to express their ideas and discuss issues of importance and relevance. Additionally, I also recognised the significance of validating these young voices by collating and recording the creative outcomes of our workshops. Whilst facilitating each meeting with pre-determined topics and agendas, I was also documenting and minuting the discussions by the young people.
The South Australian Youth Forum Annual Report will create lasting sustainable change in ensuring young people are heard at a decision-making level. From meetings with Government Departments and Local Councils, the Annual Report is now being incorporated into existing and new Youth Action Plans. A number of agencies were enthusiastic about implementing some local recommendations that we presented, including creating a dedicated Youth Hub in communities and establishing workshops around positive relationships and civics education. The success achieved by the South Australian Youth Forum will be a long-lasting legacy and change in policy-making regarding young people in South Australia."