Make Poverty History organiser to inspire local students

Dan Adams will be guest speaker at this year's Youth Leadership Program

A former Young Victorian of the Year with a passion for creating a sustainable and equitable future will inspire more than 100 high school students in the region to become better leaders.

Dan Adams, renowned for his organisation of the 2006 Make Poverty History concert, will be keynote speaker during USQ's 2011 Youth Leadership Program (YLP) this Friday 6 May.

Attracting students in Years 9 to 12 from schools in Toowoomba, the Darling Downs and South-West Queensland, the annual USQ event, facilitated by the Faculty of Education, will be held at USQ Toowoomba from 9.30am to 2.30pm.

Education academic and YLP Coordinator, Associate Professor Dorothy Andrews, said the program was designed to help potential and current school leaders to understand leadership and encourage them to build on their leadership skills.

'Using the theme, Make it Happen, the students will explore the concept of leadership and how they can mobilise others to make a difference,' Associate Professor Andrews said.

'They will be encouraged to develop practical and implementable projects in their schools.'

The keynote address and workshops throughout the day will promote the message that effective leaders do not work on their own, but to action change, they must engage and motivate others around them. Dan Adams will share how at the age of 18, he motivated others to help him organise the 2006 Make Poverty History concert, which inspired 50,000 Australians to sign up to the campaign to end extreme poverty. The concert's message reached a global audience of more than 20 million people.

YLP is one of a number of annual community engagement activities hosted by the Faculty of Education.

The organising committee for YLP consists of USQ staff, local teachers and for the first time in 2011, USQ student leaders from the residential colleges, who will be involved in running workshops throughout the day.

For more information on the 2011 Youth Leadership Program, visit: www.usq.edu.au/education/newsevents/youthleadership

Contact Details:
Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1163, 0423 166 307