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International Youth Day: Empowering Young People, Strengthening the Future
- Shane Warren
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
12th August 2026
On International Youth Day, the Australian Association of Mental Health Practitioners (AAMHP) recognises the strength, insight, creativity and leadership of young people, while calling for stronger investment in the mental health and wellbeing supports they need to thrive.
Young people are growing up in a world marked by rapid change, social pressure, digital complexity, economic uncertainty, climate concern, education demands and shifting expectations about identity, work and belonging. Their wellbeing is shaped not only by individual resilience, but by the families, schools, workplaces, communities and systems around them.
AAMHP Chair Shane Warren said:
“Young people do not need us to simply tell them to be resilient. They need communities and systems that give them reason to feel hopeful. Youth mental health is strengthened when young people are listened to, respected, included and supported early, before distress becomes crisis.” [Shane Warren]
AAMHP believes youth mental health must be approached through prevention, early intervention and meaningful access to support. This includes school wellbeing services, youth workers, counsellors, peer practitioners, community mental health workers, family support services and culturally safe programs that meet young people where they are.
International Youth Day is also a reminder that young people must be included in decisions that affect their lives. Programs, policies and services designed for young people are strongest when young people themselves are part of shaping them.
AAMHP Secretary Susan Sandy said:
“When a young person feels seen, heard and believed in, their whole world can change. Support does not always begin in a clinic. It often begins with a trusted adult, a safe conversation, a school wellbeing worker, a youth service, or a community that refuses to let a young person fall through the cracks.” [Susan Sandy]
AAMHP encourages governments, schools, families, services and communities to continue strengthening pathways of support for young people, particularly those experiencing isolation, family stress, discrimination, financial hardship, trauma, disability, cultural disconnection or barriers to care.
The future is not built for young people. It is built with them.
This International Youth Day, AAMHP celebrates young people as leaders, contributors and change-makers, and reaffirms its commitment to a mental health system that is accessible, inclusive, practical and grounded in hope.
Media Contact:
Shane Warren, Chair
Susan Sandy, Secretary
Philip Armstrong, CEO
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