Members of Telstra Foundation Youth Advisory Council
We’re excited to announce the launch of Telstra Foundation's first-ever Youth Advisory Council (YAC).
The purpose of the council is to elevate youth voices in everything we do at the Foundation. Our council members will help us gain a deeper understanding of how young people experience digital technology and its impact on their lives. They’ll provide crucial feedback on our projects, develop innovative ideas, and create content that truly resonates with their peers. Plus, they’ll play a key role in shaping a Youth Digital Index that will survey over 4,000 young people across Australia later this year. The YAC will be an important platform to empower young people to influence how the Telstra Foundation supports their digital lives.
We’re running the Council in partnership with PROJECT ROCKIT, Australia’s youth-driven movement against bullying, hate, and prejudice, because they are leaders in youth empowerment. We’ve already learned so much from working with them and can’t wait to see where they take things next.
During our inaugural meeting with the YAC, we talked about why having a youth voice is so important for Telstra. Here are some of their insights:
We’re thrilled to collaborate with such engaged and insightful young people from across the country. Our council includes representatives from diverse locations such as Port Headland in Western Australia to Judbury in Tasmania. And ranging in age from 12 to 20, they bring an incredibly vast array of experiences and perspectives.
Here are some highlights of the diversity within our council:
We can’t wait to see the impact these young people will have on our work and the broader community.
Our members include: Aadyant, Abbey, Aditya, Ash, Aisha, Alex, Alex, Amber, Aston, Bailey, Elodie, Isaac, Keanu, Madison, Rispah, Samuel, Sucheta, Vetaka, and Victoria.
Aadyant has a strong passion for both basketball and art. People often describe Aadyant as creative, innovative, adaptable, kind, but most importantly, approachable, and empathetic. At school Aadyant loves biology and engineering.
Abbey is passionate about equal rights and leveling the playing field for people during their education by enabling different evaluation pathways and the use of technology. Abbey enjoys the gift of dyslexia which enables her to think creatively and see the world from a different perspective.
Adi lives in the online world and believes in the bright future of the digital space and advocates for everyone to take part in the digital revolution that is currently happening. Adi’s skills and interests include sports, games, business, trading, leadership, digital design & writing.
Ash is currently at university diving into circuit-board-filled realms of electrical engineering. Ash’s passions lie with shaping a technological landscape that prioritises community and embodies radical transparency, ensuring a positive and symbiotic relationship between young people and digital spaces.
Aisha is passionate about climate action, civic education, and empowering young people. Aisha hopes to combine STEM communication and policy advice to prioritise effectiveness and equitability in social and environmental policy.
Alex is a proud queer person and a young person living with mental illness. Their passion is being able to use their lived experiences to contribute to a future where all young people receive the support, education, and care that they need to thrive, as themselves.
Basketball, animation, competitive debating, and technology are Alex’s jam. Whether Alex is sinking hoops on the court, diving into the world of animation, engaging in heated debates, or tinkering with the latest gadgets, he is always fuelled by passion and curiosity.
Whether chasing the waves, road tripping or public speaking, Amber is a passionate youth and environmental advocate and the founding director of the South Australian Youth Forum.
Aston is a proud Wiradjuri/Ngemba man who lives and learns on Gubbi Gubbi country. At school he represents as an Indigenous leader, taking charge of developing future projects that will benefit the education of Indigenous students.
Bailey is a school campus captain, a chairperson of his local youth advisory council, a team member at his local supermarket, and works for a family-owned business. Bailey is passionate about community engagement, learning new things, computer-aided design and being a mental health advocate and a voice for young people.
Elodie’s time online is made up of digital drawing, gaming, chatting with cool people and watching silly cartoons. What matters to Elodie most is equity, protection against bullying, queer rights, and the environment.
Issac lives in the Pilbara and is a proud Ngarluma boy. Issac joined the Youth Advisory Council because he really cares about kids his age in the Pilbara – he wants to make sure their voices are heard, and their needs are met. Isaac is highly connected to his culture and community thanks to his elders. Isaac loves sport and technology, and he is eager to learn and make things better. Isaac believes that we should teach kids cool stuff like coding, digital art and how to stay safe online – but it’s important to have fun and hang out online too.
Keanu is a creative force with a passion for fusing art and technology. Keanu finds his voice through digital art, drawing, singing at events, filmmaking, and the spontaneity of improv and theatre sports. With a love for code, he uses C# and Python to build video games and tinker with robotics.
Madi’s favourite thing in the whole wide world is working. As stress-inducing as working can be, especially at a young age, Madi feels like having a job gives people an incredible sense of stability and helps in developing a wide set of skills. According to two different BuzzFeed quizzes Madi is very much like Elsa and Cinderella.
Rispah is in her first year of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and her favourite subject at school is sports science. At school Rispah participates in co-curricular activities such as house debating, event photography, and being vice president of the student advisory tech committee.
Samuel is a keen fisherman and loves it with all his heart. Fishing for him is like art or reading for others, it’s what he does whenever he can to relax. Recently Sam had the opportunity to go to an online school where everything was digital, from class to lunch meetings to handwriting. Sam became the year level representative at this school.
Sucheta is in her second year of psychology where she aims to make a positive impact through exploring the way psychology can intersect with wellbeing and the arts, but also in corporate landscapes to foster the human mind and spirit. She adores dance and music. For her, art serves as an expression of herself and is also a connection to my her beautiful Indian culture.
Vetaka is passionate about business, technology innovation, sustainability and building connections to work towards a safer and eco-friendly future. Outside of her academic life, Vetaka is involved in extracurricular activities like the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Committee, Network of Women, and peer mentoring.
Victoria’s passions and interests are debating, politics and Model United Nations. Currently, Victoria is a member of WA Youth Parliament on the housing committee, and a proud member of Young Labor. If Victoria could change one thing about the world, it would be that the next generation are born into a world where the poverty cycle does not debilitate them from flourishing.
We want all children and young people to thrive in the digital world. That’s why we’ve committed to helping 1 million children and young people to be more included, empowered, and connected online by 2030. We want children and young people to feel heard and to have a say in the kind of digital world they want to create. So, each year we’ll engage over 4,000 young people to learn about their experiences online and harness their voices to inform our approach to creating a better digital world.
