Breakout Session 7 - 17th September at 2:45 - 3:25

Changing the direction of the world through youth leadership among pre-service educators

Abstract

The Commonwealth’s 56 member countries have a combined population of 2.5 billion people, of which more than 60% are aged 29 or younger. 2023 coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Youth Programme, which was established to deliver support for young people under 30 to reach their full potential. In response to the 2023 and 2024 Year of the Youth, the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM) formed a Youth Leadership Special Interest Group (YL-SIG). This YL-SIG has a specific goal of promoting youth-led action for sustainable and inclusive leadership among pre-service educators in the Commonwealth and beyond. Our objective is to work among pre-service educators, providing administrative, management, and leadership opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and opportunities to speak out about community issues and challenge inequalities within their local educational settings and beyond.

Click Here to read about the CCEAM Youth Leadership Special Interest Group

The presentation will first share our personal stories and interest in creating this SIG followed by our work thus far related to our vision, mission, and anticipated direction for achieving the objectives while generating interest for others to join our SIG or begin a similar youth leadership initiative in their respective institutions. We will discuss the three selected themes to explore and develop youth leadership among pre-service teachers across each CCEAM member nation: (1) Youth and Food Insecurity, (2) Youth and Climate Change and (3) Youth amidst the World at War/Peace and outline the organization of country-based CCEAM youth leader teams and how we will measure the outcomes of these teams and the SIG’s work and impact.

Biography

Patricia Briscoe, Venesser Fernandes, Mohini Devi, Fred Ebot

Patricia Briscoe, Associate Professor, College of Education, Niagara University Ontario, Canada.

Venesser Ferenades, International Teaching and Research Expertise in Educational Leadership and Improvement Studies, Senior Lecturer & Wellbeing Champion for School of Education, Culture and Society, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Fred Ebot, Professor, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Foundations & Administration, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon. President of Cameroon Council for Educational Leadership and Management Society (CCELMS).

Mohini Devi, Lecturer, Faculty of Education, The University of Fiji, Fiji.