The Australian Program-supported initiative, Young Mob, now in its eighth year, partners with Indigenous communities to empower Aboriginal youth.
Participants develop leadership, resilience and life skills, helping them to engage confidently with their communities and the wider world. They also learn more about their heritage, reinforcing cultural knowledge systems.
In February Young Mob took out the Margaret Oldfield Memorial Award for Outstanding Project in an Aboriginal Organisation/Group at the ZEST Awards. The award recognises Young Mob's excellence in capacity building, advocacy and leadership in the community sector across the Greater Western Sydney region.
Next month Young Mob will have another shot at glory, when eight ambassadors from Sydney head to Brazil to take part in the World Vision Cup.
The ambassadors, aged 14-19, will join a group of global youth to play soccer, exchange experiences and discuss matters affecting youth development in their respective countries. The tournament will be held in Recife, one of the host cities of the FIFA World Cup.
The Football Federation of Australia is helping to prepare the delegation for match day. But more importantly, the ambassadors will have the chance to put their skills into practice off the field.
They'll be representing Australia on a global stage, engaging in cultural exchange and adding their voices to an advocacy agenda on a range of youth issues. These will include child labour, sexual abuse and exploitation, economic opportunities, violence and mortality, and malnutrition.
The experience will promote Young Mob's goals by further enhancing participants' leadership skills, confidence and cultural pride.
Get behind Young Mob by becoming an Australia Program supporter. You can also find out more about our partnerships with Indigenous communities.