Two MYAN Youth Council members from NSW, Adam and Konan, recently contributed to consultations for the NSW Strategic Plan for Children and Young People 2027-2030, sharing their experiences and perspectives on the issues affecting young people today.
Their involvement reflects MYAN’s commitment to ensuring multicultural young people can participate in policy discussions and decision-making processes that affect their lives.
About the MYAN Youth Council
MYAN’s Youth Council is made up of 12 young people from diverse backgrounds across every state and territory in Australia. Youth Council members act as advisors to MYAN, helping shape our advocacy priorities, projects and policy work.
A key part of the Youth Council’s role is contributing lived experience, skills, expertise and insight to conversations that influence outcomes for young people. This includes engaging with governments, community organisations and other decision-makers on issues that matter to multicultural young people.
Bringing Youth Perspectives into Policy
As part of the consultation process, MYAN supported Adam and Konan to contribute their perspectives to the NSW Office for Youth.
While MYAN helped facilitate the opportunity, the ideas and recommendations were grounded in Adam and Konan’s own experiences and community connections in NSW.
Their contributions highlighted several issues they believe should be priorities for children and young people in NSW.
What Matters to Young People?
Mental health and life skills
Adam and Konan highlighted the need for stronger mental health education and support in schools, alongside practical life skills such as emotional regulation, financial literacy, healthy relationships and navigating the transition into adulthood.
Community, belonging and inclusion
They spoke about the importance of creating spaces where young people feel connected to their communities and able to express all aspects of their identity. They also emphasised the value of culturally safe and inclusive environments that support belonging.
Youth participation in decision-making
A recurring theme throughout the consultation was that young people want meaningful involvement in decisions that affect them, including education, housing, wellbeing and community planning. Adam and Konan stressed that young people should be engaged early and treated as partners in shaping policy, rather than consulted as an afterthought.
Creating pathways for civic engagement
Their recommendations also included more opportunities for young people to engage directly with decision-makers, stronger civic education, and ongoing youth advisory mechanisms that allow young people to contribute to policy development over time.
Young People Leading Change
Adam and Konan’s contribution to the consultation demonstrates the value of creating pathways for young people to engage with public policy.
At MYAN, we see our role as helping connect young people with opportunities to share their perspectives, while ensuring decision-makers hear directly from those with lived experience.
We’re proud to have supported Adam and Konan’s participation in this process and look forward to sharing their own independent initiatives to our networks as well!