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Keynote panel | From data to lived experience: What disasters mean for young people
Disasters are becoming more frequent, complex, and long-lasting, yet emergency management systems are still largely designed around infrastructure and households, often overlooking the distinct needs, experiences, and leadership of children and young people.
Grounded in the AFAC26 theme Leading together: Integrity, inclusion and impact, this session brings youth-informed perspectives into the heart of emergency management. UNICEF Australia Young Ambassadors will lead the session, offering a unique combination of lived experience, peer-informed insight, and youth-led solutions.
Young Ambassadors Layla, Lincoln, Anica and Adriel will share firsthand experiences that bring the lived reality behind climate data to life. Despite growing up in different states, both have experienced the impacts of bushfires on their communities. Layla will also reflect on severe flooding during her HSC year, when she was cut off without power, internet, or access to school, highlighting how disasters disrupt education, wellbeing, and a sense of safety for young people.
These personal experiences will be connected to national evidence from a UNICEF Australia and Deloitte report, which highlights the significant and growing social and economic impact of climate disasters on children and young people. The session will also draw on youth-led advocacy and consultations the Young Ambassadors have led across Australia, elevating the voices and experiences of young people nationwide.
By combining lived experience, evidence, and youth co-designed initiatives, this session offers a perspective that bridges personal insight with system-level change, repositioning young people not just as affected populations, but as essential partners in preparedness, response, and recovery.
Grounded in the AFAC26 theme Leading together: Integrity, inclusion and impact, this session brings youth-informed perspectives into the heart of emergency management. UNICEF Australia Young Ambassadors will lead the session, offering a unique combination of lived experience, peer-informed insight, and youth-led solutions.
Young Ambassadors Layla, Lincoln, Anica and Adriel will share firsthand experiences that bring the lived reality behind climate data to life. Despite growing up in different states, both have experienced the impacts of bushfires on their communities. Layla will also reflect on severe flooding during her HSC year, when she was cut off without power, internet, or access to school, highlighting how disasters disrupt education, wellbeing, and a sense of safety for young people.
These personal experiences will be connected to national evidence from a UNICEF Australia and Deloitte report, which highlights the significant and growing social and economic impact of climate disasters on children and young people. The session will also draw on youth-led advocacy and consultations the Young Ambassadors have led across Australia, elevating the voices and experiences of young people nationwide.
By combining lived experience, evidence, and youth co-designed initiatives, this session offers a perspective that bridges personal insight with system-level change, repositioning young people not just as affected populations, but as essential partners in preparedness, response, and recovery.
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