MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS ANIKA WELLS: I am honoured to represent Australia at today’s meeting of the World Programme of Action for Youth.

Intergenerational collaboration is essential to addressing the global challenges we face. Australia recognises that the full, effective, safe, and meaningful participation of youth is vital to advancing peace, security, human rights, and sustainable development — as outlined in the Pact for the Future.

We can only meet the needs and aspirations of young people if we truly listen to them, partner with them, and provide genuine opportunities for them to shape the future. Australia supports youth participation at both the national and the international level. We do this through our UN Youth Delegate Programme and our support for the Junior Professional Officer Program to develop future generations of UN leaders.

Next month, Australia’s Youth Delegate to the United Nations, Ms Satara Uthayakumaran, will share the voices of young Australians on the global stage. This comes after Satara travelled and talked to young people across our vast country, connecting the local to the global.

In our region, Australia supports youth-focused initiatives. Through partnerships with organisations like UNICEF, we are collaborating with our neighbours on pressing challenges, including climate change.

Nationally, Australia is focused on ensuring that young people are empowered, valued, and included in decision-making. For engagement to be effective it must be authentic, so we’ve shifted our approach from consultation to co-design, from outreach to partnership, and from listening to action.

Initiatives like our National Youth Forum, Youth Advisory Groups, the National Youth Survey, National Youth Consultations, and the Digital Youth Hub provide platforms for young people to influence policy —with a focus on including First Nations youth, young women and girls, LGBTIQA+ youth, young people from regional, rural and remote communities, and young people with disabilities.

Recently, Australia has worked on improving our digital safety framework to address online harms. We are introducing world-leading Social Media Minimum Age legislation, to protect children under 16. 

Young Australians have played an important role in shaping this through advisory groups including our national Youth Steering Committee and the eSafety Youth Council. 

As digital natives, fluent in online communication and most vulnerable to its harms, the input of young people means this legislation will better reflect their digital realities. It shows us that meaningful intergenerational collaboration makes for stronger outcomes.

So, let's amplify the voices of youth and work in partnership. Let's reframe problems and find real solutions for our shared future.

Thank you.