Amplifying The Voices Of Young People By Aaron Wei

Student: Aaron Wei

School: Year 11 Student At Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology (QASMT)

Initiative: Brisbane Youth Forum

Social Media: LinkedIn

Aaron Wei at the 2024 Next Gen National Awards Ceremony.

Can You Tell Us About Your Initiative?

I went to the library, booked a meeting room, typed up some discussion questions, and invited young people & decisionmakers. 44 young people from 14 schools attended my first Youth Forum, an event by youth, for youth.

I upscaled and last month ran the Brisbane Youth Forum at Parliament House, with 80 young people from 22 schools and 3 Ministers.

Now, I’m working with a group of 40 attendees partnering with Brisbane-based startup GoodPeople to activate the community running festivals. We want to reduce loneliness and change the social fabric of Brisbane, focusing on intergenerational bonding. Our five tipi tents & double decker bus are fitted to run activities for everyone. Our first one is in conjunction with the Jacaranda Festival in November, and we are expecting 4,000 people!

I’m also inspiring others to run their own Youth Forums and grassroots projects, and there are two upcoming!

What Specific Challenges Did You Identify In Your Community, And How Did You Go About Addressing Them?

In February, I attended a local community forum, wanting to raise my voice on big issues and talk to decisionmakers. However, there was a problem: I was the only person there under 20. I quickly realised our society was hugely underrepresenting young people.

Though it’s the young people who take public transport and are in schools every day, it was almost as if they’re invisible in the decision-making process. For a representative democracy, it was painful to me learning that the average MP is older than 35% of our population.

It was clear to me young people had a voice, and everyone had a unique story that should be told. If politicians weren’t going to offer the youth opportunities to be heard, I realised it would be up to the youth, like me, to do so. I wanted to raise my voice for others to raise theirs.

How Do You Measure The Success Of Your Initiatives, And What Impact Have They Had On The People You Aimed To Help?

I have two main goals – for the festival to be successful, and to inspire more young people into creating grassroots change.

As I’m working with a volunteer team, I’ll deem the festival successful if they feel like they’ve been a part of something. Being GoodPeople’s first festival, it’s very much a pilot and we are learning lots about team structures, volunteer co-ordination, and workshops.

After our pilot, in 2025 we want to run our first standalone festival in the local area, before travelling to different communities to run festivals there. Once we gain enough traction, we would like to do a whole-city festival. Our plan is we will eventually expand nationally.

Secondly, I want to continue inspiring young people. I’ve provided mentoring to several upcoming youth forum convenors, which will continue. I’m particularly proud of all the projects started from my Youth Forums, and I want to encourage more.

What Were Some Of The Biggest Obstacles You Faced During Your Projects, And How Did You Overcome Them?

At the Indro Forum, I hugely struggled with trying to manage everything; I was doing the MCing, volunteer coordination and timekeeping all at once. I also wasn’t clear enough about speech content, and a few politicians got into a squabble about housing policy.

For my Parliament Forum, I made sure to recruit a team of volunteers, who came in early on the day and took roles including photography, timekeeping, and ensuring people didn’t get lost – and they got certificates signed by all guest speakers & Ministers there. I also checked speeches. Next time, though, I’ll leave more time for moving around, especially with large groups.

As the number of attendees at my event grows from 100 to 4,000, there are bound to be more things which go wrong. However, the running our pilot with the already-established Jacaranda Festival allows us to learn, adapt, and improve.

What Lessons Have You Learned From Your Leadership Experiences, And How Have They Shaped Your Approach To Future Projects? The biggest lesson I learnt from the Indro Youth Forum was that I could not run it alone. I was struggling to be the timekeeper, MC, and Zoom-link-checker at once. That’s why at the Brisbane Youth Forum, I had a team of 10 with me, and I delegated roles so I could focus on management.

My Youth Forums have also illustrated the power of connection. There is no way I could be hosting in Parliament House, or running festivals with 4,000 people, without the professional connections I have made. Whether it be GoodPeople CEO Ben Croft, or Cr Penny Wolff, connection has made my project shine.

Ben has given me invaluable advice about team culture, from starting meetings on time, to regular in-person catchups, to a non-hierarchical leadership structure. We also have a team of 40 motivated young people making the festival happen, as we could not do it alone.

Looking Ahead, What Are Your Plans For Continuing To Make A Difference? Are There Any New Initiatives Or Ideas You're Excited To Pursue? November 9th will be GoodPeople’s first festival. We’ve got an all-volunteer team which is comprised of 90% young people with no prior experience.

We’ve collaborated with Jacaranda strategically so we can learn. After, we’ll take what we’ve learnt and run a standalone GoodPeople festival in Q1 2025, before running a city-wide festival in Q2. Festival entry will remain free, and we’ll recoup costs through running paid workshops and a silent disco with our bus bar. In between festivals, we’ve also started leasing our assets for private functions.

However, our plan isn’t to make profit, and we’ll donate any profits we make to charity.

About our volunteer team, we make it clear that it’s family first, school second, and GoodPeople third. Over the next two months we’re scouting and finding people to join our team long-term, paid. We’ll also invite senior citizens and adults onto our teams next year, diversifying experiences.

What Advice Would You Give To Other Young Leaders Who Aspire To Create Positive Change In Their Communities?

Just do it.

When I first walked into the library to set up my first Youth Forum, I had absolutely no experience with event management, graphic design, or volunteer coordination. I just had a passion, saw a need, and actioned it.

I've met lots of young people who have awesome ideas but are too afraid to get onto their feet and give it a go. The biggest piece of advice I've given in my mentorship sessions has been to just do it.

That's how the other Youth Forums happened, how the Climate Council formed, why there are 40 young people in the GoodPeople Festival committees. Change happens when "ordinary" people act on something, serve others, and become extraordinary.

About service: leadership is not about exalting yourself. True leadership is humbling yourself to serve others, like Jesus Christ did, seeing yourself as equal with those you lead.

Aaron Wei participated in our Next Gen Awards 2024 program and was a finalist for the Young Leader Of The Year category. To find out more about the Next Gen Awards and how your projects and initiatives can be showcased head to: www.nextgenoftheyear.com