There is a lot of hunger for change and successful living in African-Australian communities. At a recent youth conference organised by Incubate Foundation in Melbourne, approximately one hundred young African-Australians responded to an invitation to explore ways to achieve personal and career success, within an increasingly challenging, fast-moving and market-driven Australian environment.
A group of attendees at the conference (photo: Incubate foundation)
The “Accelerating Potential Youth Conference” was booked out several days before the date of the event, a sign for a growing interest by young people in the community to focus on the pursuit of excellence, realising their potential and turning it into success. The conference brought together young people from different African Australian backgrounds, all driven by their desire to achieve their best and make the most of the opportunities that are available in Australia, despite the many challenges that they are confronted with, especially in the context of increasingly negative misrepresentations of African-Australian youths in the mainstream media.
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Several speakers and facilitators from different professional backgrounds joined other youth leaders, social pioneers and community leaders to address the youths and inspire them for change. Several workshops were organised throughout the day and young people were invited to explore a variety of topics related to successful job applications, mental well-being, excellence in leadership, business entrepreneurship and the pursuit of social change, amongst other things.
A view of the conference (photo: Incubate foundation)
Honourable Inga Peulich, the shadow minister for Multicultural Affairs talked to the attendees about Incubate Foundation’s development program focusing on ways to help the youth to turn their aspiration into reality and their youthful energy into positive resourcefulness.
Zione Walker, Incubate foundation’s founder expressed her intention to continue to run the conference project in the future and create other opportunities to help young African-Australians accelerate their potential and achieve success and contribute to the betterment of the broader Australian society.
The conference also offered a networking opportunity for African Australian youths aspiring for bigger and brighter things in their lives. Many attendees were happy to have been given the opportunity to meet with and hear from distinguished guests and panelists at the conference, including Liana Buchanan, Commissioner for Children and Young People in Victoria, Harry Minus, director of the Center for International Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, Abigail Sullivan, a senior lawyer and educator and Ukari Warmann, Human Resource expert. The Conference took place at a KPMG site on collins Street, Melbourne on 9th May, 2016.
