Latest news with #youthadvocacy
SBS Australia
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
Young Indigenous voices speak up on the importance of being the next generation
The 2025 NAIDOC theme encourages young First Nations peoples to speak up about being the next generation. NITV Radio had the pleasure to listen to three voices tell us how they continue the legacy of their Elders' and reflect on being a voice for the current generation. Isaiah Mckenna is an aspiring young lawyer, with a deep connection to her heritage and a will to develop First Nations advocacy in the field of law. Isaiah McKenna Denzel James is a climate activist and was nominated as a South Australian 2025 young Australian of the year. Denzel James Sophia Hunt is a musician with a passion for pursuing the connection between First Nations and contemporary music. Sophia Hunt
CBS News
26-06-2025
- CBS News
Concerns rise in Denver about youth violence after troubling scene outside mall
Police say nearly 300 teens gathered near a shopping mall in the northeastern part of Denver on Sunday night, causing disturbances at businesses and getting into physical fights. Ty McKay One witness said this should serve as a wake-up call for parents and the community. "(My) first initial thought was go help," said Ty McKay, a community youth advocate who witnessed the scene outside The Shops at Northfield. This video from McKay shows the moments dozens of kids fought each other. Some ran, some hid and others took swings at one another. "It was a lot going on. It was a lot of fights happening," McKay said. Though police worked to push teens out of the area, McKay says that wasn't enough -- which is why he stepped in. "It was myself and two other individuals that hopped out of the car because there was no intervention by the police at all. They were just watching the kids fighting," he said. In a statement to CBS Colorado, Denver police said no damage was reported, although two small items were stolen from a business. No arrests were made. "My initial fear was the weapons. I didn't want any kids to be hurt or killed," McKay said. McKay runs Dream Culture, a nonprofit that works with Denver youth. He says the incident was eye-opening. "I have an organization, I work with kids, all those kinds of things. So it's one of those things that, you know, you kind of see it in social life. I just didn't want to see the tragedy." He says this should be concerning for the community. "There's been a lot of conversation -- not only with me, but with a lot of different organizations, leaders, family members -- about how we can address these things." Police say they are aware of other planned takeover events and are working on strategies to minimize future disruptions.
RNZ News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Rangatahi with parents in prison are 'silent victims'
Rangitahi whose parent, or parents, have been locked away in prison say more needs to be done to ensure they're not punished for the crimes of their mothers or fathers. They've formed a youth advisory panel which today met with Children's Minister Karen Chhour on the steps of Parliament. They handed her an open letter calling for the establishment of a whanau navigator role in criminal district courts to help those left behind when someone's sent to jail. Louise Ternouth reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
SBS Australia
21-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Australia's social media ban is approaching, but questions remain over whether it will work
April Willis says young people need a seat at the table for figuring out how to implement the teen social media ban. Source: SBS News / Ash Minchin Like many, April Willis has been using social media since her early teens. As she grew up on the platforms, she says she didn't immediately understand the impact it was having on her. She says that in hindsight, though, she can see that a lot of her "behaviours" and "the content and interactions" she had on social media platforms were "definitely not great" for her mental health. But the now 22-year-old ReachOut youth advocate says she doesn't think a ban would have stopped her. "I think the hard truth is that a lot of us are thinking, 'I would've found a way around it', as I'm sure many young people will." Whether she actually would have is one of the many questions experts are wondering six months out from the implementation of Australia's social media ban for those under the age of 16. And as of 11 December this year, social media companies will be required to take "reasonable steps" to prevent Australian children and teenagers under 16 from using their platforms. A government-commissioned trial into the potential technologies used to assess the ages of users presented their preliminary findings on Friday. Their key finding was that "age assurance can be done in Australia and can be private, robust and effective". "The preliminary findings indicate that there are no significant technological barriers preventing the deployment of effective age assurance systems in Australia," project director Tony Allen said in a statement. "These solutions are technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services, and can support the safety and rights of children online." With details about the accuracy of the technologies tested left for later release, experts are wary of the trial's initial claim. Daniel Angus is a professor of digital communication at the Queensland University of Technology and the director of its Digital Media Research Centre. "One of the key concerns that we have is how the industry often will inflate their accuracy and the utility of these approaches when we know that there are still significant issues when it comes to both gender and also racial biases, but also the general lack of efficacy of these approaches," he said. According to the Department of Communications, a government-commissioned report from the Social Research Centre found nearly nine in 10 adults were supportive of age assurance measures. Only two of those 10 had heard of at least one potential method to check a person's age online. 'This research shows Australians widely support our world-leading age restrictions on social media for under 16s and have strong expectations of platforms when it comes to data protection and security," Communications Minister Anika Wells said in a statement. Angus says the general public has not been adequately informed about the likely impacts of these technologies. "I think Australians are in for a very rude shock when this actually perhaps, gets implemented, and they all of a sudden are being forced to hand over [their] data to access services that they've freely been able to access up to this point," he said. "It's absolutely everything you would expect to find in the midst of a moral panic where people have been sucked along with this idea that, 'Yeah, this thing is really, really bad and we need to prevent it,' but have not stopped to think critically about this, and then not been properly informed about the fullness of that risk." John Pane, chair of digital rights organisation Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), is a member of the stakeholder advisory board for the trial. He says the EFA has "concerns about the rollout of this technology because it's not simply about restricting access to social media platforms for children 15 and under". "It requires all adults who participate in the online environment, who wish to access social media platforms to either have their age authenticated or establish their identity as a means of, or part of that age authentication. "So from our perspective, it's the Trojan horse for getting people to get used to providing more and more credentials online." Amid these concerns, some remain supportive of the ban, including Kirra Pendergast, another member of the stakeholder advisory board. "Initially, I was only against the ban purely because of the technical workarounds that are possible for some kids who are more technical than others," she said. "But after having lots of conversations with parents in particular, it became abundantly clear that the ban was making parents have a conversation that we've needed to have for a very, very long time." Pendergast is the founder of Safe on Social, an online safety advisory group for schools and businesses, and chief digital safety strategist at the global Ctrl+Shft Coalition. "I get contacted almost every single day by parents that are struggling with this," the cybersecurity expert said. "They don't know how to say no." Pendergast said parents and educators would have "a lot more time to get it right". "It's like all aspects of technical security, cybersecurity, and cyber safety. It's never ever going to be 100 per cent. This is never going to be the silver bullet. "It's a really, really good start because, again, it sparked all of the conversations that we needed to have at every level of society." Professor Tama Leaver, an internet studies academic at Curtin University and the chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, says the ban responds to a "very real fear that parents have that social media is an unknown space". "If this is world-leading, we need to be quite clear on what the legislation is actually doing." He warned that the implementation of the policy may not address all the issues that have been discussed. "Some harms, for example, such as cyberbullying, were very much touted as one of the big problems to be solved," he said. "There is nothing in this legislation that addresses cyberbullying meaningfully at all. "This at best addresses algorithmic amplification … of young people's experiences of social media, but … we expect from what's been said already that most messaging apps are exempt from this legislation. "So, the spaces where we imagine cyberbullying is most likely to happen are not being touched by this legislation at all." Leaver was a signatory on an open letter from more than 140 academics and civil society organisations against the ban. "If the rest of the world is watching Australia and hoping that this might be a blueprint, we're going to have an awful lot of work to do in the next few months to actually have a blueprint to practically do this rather than simply aspire to giving parents some reassurance," he said.
Zawya
19-06-2025
- Health
- Zawya
DISD students speak at H20 Global Health Summit in Geneva
Dubai – A group of six students from the German International School Dubai (DISD) were honored today at the prestigious H20 Summit at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Launched in 2018 by the G20 Health and Development Partnership, the H20 Summit is a global platform supporting the agendas of the G20 and G7, bringing together leaders and stakeholders to advance health and development priorities. DISD students were invited on stage this morning to present gifts to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In a deeply moving moment the students Lara Gutmann and Luca Erkol then delivered speeches that captured the urgency and passion of a new generation calling for global health equity. 'Listening to the voices of the future generation is vital to achieve health for all,' said Lara, reflecting on the DISD-hosted G20 youth simulation. 'We all deserve to live in good health, no matter the economic status of the country we call home.' Luca reinforced this message with a compelling appeal to G20 leaders: 'If global challenges are youth challenges, then global solutions must also be youth solutions,' he said. 'Global health – and youth health – is not just an agenda item; it is a commitment to all of the people not represented here… securing their future generations' right to dream.' The DISD student delegation was publicly commended in the opening keynote by South Africa's Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, who thanked them for their commitment and for hosting a Model G20 simulation on public health earlier this year in Dubai. 'I would also like to thank the students from the German International School Dubai… for their commitment in discussing and elevating the importance of global and public health for our future generations,' Dr. Motsoaledi said, highlighting their contribution in a video address to summit delegates. On May 8, DISD students took part in a G20 Simulation Workshop on Post-Pandemic Global Health, led by Hatice Küçük Beton, Executive Director of the G20 & G7 Health and Development Partnership. Organized by their teachers Sitem Kolburan and Louisa Willgrass, the workshop allowed students to assume the roles of world leaders, debate pressing health challenges, and explore the complexity of global diplomacy. Key topics included pandemic preparedness, the marketing of unhealthy food to children, and sustainable healthcare. A video documenting the simulation, including student reflections and a statement from Hatice Beton on the importance of youth engagement, was selected for presentation at the H20 Summit. Hatice Beton said in the video 'I was surprised very positively. They were so energized and really had concrete ideas, … and I think they can really drive some impact with some of the ideas they came up with today.' In a remarkable development, the Health Minister expressed interest in reviewing the students' recommendations for potential inclusion in the official G20 agenda when world leaders gather in Johannesburg in November 2025. The students' proposal – presented as a Model G20 Leaders' Declaration - included initiatives such as: A Global Youth Health Fund to support education and healthy lifestyle campaigns. A youth for health program integrating health education into school systems, and mobile health clinics in underserved regions across Africa and Southeast Asia. 'This moment shows the true impact of youth-led dialogue,' said Sitem Kolburan, the students' class and English teacher of the German International School Dubai. 'We are incredibly proud of our students for representing DISD and the youth of the world with such clarity, courage, and conviction.' With this international recognition, DISD is eager to further amplify youth voices and expand engagement with local and global partners. The school welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with media to share this inspiring milestone in student-led leadership and diplomacy. Media Contact: Corinna Rösner Head of Marketing and Communications DISD - German International School Dubai |
