Working partner: Department of Education and National Indigenous Australians Agency
About
First Nations young people have an important role to play in shaping the future of Australia. When it comes to education, it is important the First Nations young people’s voices are heard and considered.
Members of the First Nations Education Youth Advisory Group will provide input into 4 priority areas related to school engagement:
- the role of teachers
- education policy settings like the National School Reform Agreement
- cultural capability and curriculum content
- targeted program support for school engagement.
Members
Georgie is 20 years old and recently moved from Canberra to Adelaide to play in the South Australian Football League Competition. Outside of sport, Georgie is studying a Bachelor of Social Work.
In the future, she really wants to work with young people, and in particular her First Nations community. Georgie is also interested in social policy and advocacy work.
What she hopes to achieve from being in the Youth Advisory Group is to gain experience in a working group of people who produce plans and strategies to bring forth impactful programs that address the needs of Aboriginal children in education.
Johnny is passionate about his Aboriginal culture and is an avid sports fan with a key interest in athletics, basketball and AFL.
He is dedicated to improving the education of vulnerable youth.
Johnny is connected to his Aboriginal culture and has been performing Aboriginal dance and didgeridoo from a young age.
He was born in Geraldton and grew up in Perth where he did all his early years of schooling, before moving back to Geraldton where he completed high school.
Upon finishing grade 12, Johnny has been successfully self-employed running a cultural business.
Noah is a proud descendant of the Gomeroi people of northwest New South Wales and lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
He was a member of our 2023 First Nations Youth Advisory Group and is also on the Northern Beaches Council Youth Advisory Group and the Y NSW First Nations reference group.
Noah also serves as the Youth Member for Pittwater and Youth Premier of NSW (Y NSW Youth Parliament).
He was the 2023 Northern Beaches Young Citizen of the Year.
Noah has been an active member in the community as a surf lifesaver volunteer at Bilgola Surf Life Saving Club. He’s also school captain, where he works for an Aboriginal social enterprise sharing culture.
His passion is to facilitate enhanced learning about Aboriginal culture, creating a level of awareness to help close the gap and ensure youth voices are heard.
Rhea is a young Torres Strait Islander woman from the Ait Koedal clan of Thursday and Saibai Island.
Rhea is an emerging social worker and youth advocate for First Nations rights.
She hopes to inspire by being an agent of change through the process of decolonisation.
Rhea hopes to provide an intergenerational, trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach to the upcoming design and implementation plan dedicated to First Nations community development.
Shanaya is a proud Arrente and Pitjantjatjara young woman from central Australia.
As part of the Youth Advisory Group, she hopes to make change not only for her generation but all generations to come.
Additionally, she hopes to influence the way young people view education and to show that it’s not an obligation but an opportunity to achieve amazing things.
Shanaya is looking forward to having interesting conversations, learning, sharing with other young people from Australia and being part of positive change for the benefits of education for our future generations.
Sienna is a proud young Kuku Yalanji and Waanyi woman who is passionate about promoting educational support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
She believes education is a crucial element in closing the gaps between First Nations and non-First Nations Australians.
Sienna is grateful to be continuing in a Youth Advisory Group after being a member in 2023. She hopes to use this opportunity to represent other First Nations students and influence changes which will benefit our communities nationwide.
Tremane comes from Wyndham in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and is honoured to have received various achievements in his life, including:
- Youth member for Kimberley Youth Parliament WA 2022
- “Abbey Forrest” Emerging Leader for East Kimberley 2023
- first Aboriginal Captain of Justice, Peace & Advocacy 2024
- Duke of Edinburgh bronze award
- featured in the Australian Financial Review
- WA Tourism & Hospitality Careers Guide.
On the First Nations Education Youth Advisory Group, Tremane hopes to give his fellow members an understanding of remote education and lifestyle and its challenges.
Tremane also hopes to give back to his community of Wyndham.
Tulara is a proud, young Butchulla and Wathaurong woman who is passionate about addressing the many gaps in education that impact First Nations young people.
Tulara, who has continued her family’s tradition of making emu feather headdresses, now lives, studies and works on Kaurna Country in Adelaide.
She was the Senior Culture Captain of her school in 2023, and the recipient of the Walpaara Anpa Aboriginal scholarship.
Tulara is preparing to start work at Ngutu College which is an Adelaide-based school for First Nations students. Ngutu means ‘knowledge’ in Kaurna language.
Tulara hopes to use her lived experience to contribute positively to the Youth Advisory Group, and to learn and connect with others along the way.
Victory is a proud Dharug and Kamiliroi man, who grew up on Dhudhuroa, Waveroo, Wiradjuri Country along the border of Victoria and New South Wales.
He currently works in the community services space and has done so for the past 4 years.
Victory hopes that, along with the other mob selected, he can lend his voice and provide a culturally specific lens on how to best support the next generation of First Nations young people in achieving the best learning outcomes they can.