2. YOUNG PEOPLE
SHOULD
CREATE
THE FUTURE
NOT JUST
INHERIT
IT
3. Youth not for profit Vibewire has announced its inaugural 6 under 26.
We want to recognise the six young people who have created the greatest impact
or change in their communities through social initiatives.
This year’s 6 under 26 are from a broad range of backgrounds with a variety of
projects, from Indigenous youth empowerment initiatives, sustainable food
movements, programs that foster social entrepreneurship skills in high school
students, to organisations that encourage young women to take up engineering
and technology.
4. Since 2010, Vibewire in conjunction with the
Powerhouse Museum has been hosting the
monthly fastBREAK innovation series
featuring Australia’s young innovators.
Drawn from the ranks of fastBREAK
speakers and the broader Vibewire
community, 6 under 26 showcases the
innovators to watch in 2013.
5. MalikOsman
Abdi Malik Osman is the Somali Podcast Coordinator for the Community Relations
Commision, he is also an award-winning short film documentary maker and runs his own
design business.
He is a member of the NSW Government’s Muslim Reference group and is an executive
member of Horn of Africa Relief and Development Agency.
Osman is a refugee who fled the war in Somalia and has since returned to Somalia and
Kenya on behalf of HARDA, working to provide humanitarian aid and to document the
suffering in the Horn. His short film about Refugees called Tilted Scales won the Elephant
In the Room competition, a Human Rights Commission Award.
6. MaritaCheng
Marita Cheng is a 23 year old student of Mechatronics Engineering and Computer Science
at the University of Melbourne. Cheng is the Founder and Executive Director
of Robogals, and the Young Australian of the Year for 2012.
Cheng found this initiative to substantially increase the number of young women pursuing
engineering in their tertiary studies and careers.
Follow Marita Cheng on Twitter at @maritacheng.
7. Alexandra Iljadica
Alexandra Iljadica is 25 years old, a Public health researcher at UNSW and food security
researcher at Australian Red Cross.
Iljadica is also one of the founders of Youth Food Movement in Australia. Youth Food
Movement strives to make young people aware of their power as conscious consumers by
building understanding and value for the food we eat.
Follow Alexandra Iljadica and the Youth Food Movement on Twitter at @YFMSydney.
8. VikNithy
Vik Nithy is 21 years old, and currently studying Psychological Science and at UNSW. Nithy
is the co-founder of One Can Grow, a not for profit organisation that equips young people
with business skills and knowledge of social issues to make a positive social impact in the
world while remaining financially sustainable.
Follow him on Twitter at @Vikashan
9. SophieWeldon
Sophie Weldon studied at the United World College of the Atlantic, which enabled her to
live with over 350 people from over 80 countries and study subjects she was passionate
about from a young age such as Peace and Conflict Studies.
She was appointed Special Youth Representative for the UN Refugee Agency, which is a
role she undertook from 2008-2012. During that time she piloted the first youth arm of the
organisation – Youth for UNHCR. She was selected as a Steering Committee Member of the
Australian Youth Forum when she was 19.
Sophie studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and since graduating
has worked for the Global Peace Index, set up her own hybrid freelance business Creative
Ventures and also undertaken a role of Design for Change coordinator at Oxfam Australia.
10. BensonSaulo
Benson Saulo is 24 years old and a descendant of the Wemba Wemba and Gundjitmara
nations of western Victoria and the New Ireland Provence of Papua New Guinea.
Saulo is the Director of the National Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy (NIYLA). NIYLA
is an initiative that aims to develop a national network of young Indigenous Australians as
the next generation of change makers who are passionate about creating positive change
in their schools, community and wider Australia.
Follow Benson Saulo on Twitter at @bensonsaulo.
11. Vibewire salutes young change makers across the
country.
We congratulate the 6 under 26 for 2013.
Vibewire is running a CROWD FUNDING campaign
to help support the next generation of
6Under 26s.
Show your support at
START SOME GOOD