yChange Collaborators

yChange was produced by South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly, with input from South Australian students, educators, and local, state, national and international civics experts.

Many young people helped inform and direct the style and content of the yChange resource. Without their input and contextual knowledge around the ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ they are interested in learning about civics and citizenship in the school setting – yChange could not have been produced.

Developed over an eighteen-month timeframe yChange was initially presented as a pilot program in 2020 with students and teachers from Mark Oliphant College, Marryatville High School and Elizabeth Vale Primary School generously contributing their feedback on their yChange experience.

yChange has been reviewed by representatives from its Supportive Partners who include the Commonwealth Parliamentary Education Office, Parliament of South Australia, History Trust of South Australia and The Centre of Democracy.

The Governor’s Civic Awards are aligned with yChange as are South Australia’s Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) association and Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA).

Representatives from UN Youth SA prepared and presented the following yChange videos available for view here

• Levels of Government – Tom Dodsworth (President, UN Youth SA)
• Root Causes – Kristen Lucas (Communications Director, UN Youth SA)
• International Governance – Darcy Hermsen (Secretary, UN Youth SA)

yChange videos were produced by Topbunk

Scott Warren, Founder of Generation Citizen and Fellow at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute and his Team at Generation Citizen, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, shared extensive knowledge of and advice on action civics.

Malcolm McInerney, Civics Lead, Department for Education, Government of South Australia provided invaluable feedback on course content and curriculum alignment while Natalie Young, Community Education Officer, Parliament of South Australia offered feedback, advice and unwavering support.  

Testimonials

“The curriculum and pedagogy that yChange is promoting for educators and young people in South Australia is inspiring, and so needed. I’m incredibly excited that yChange is ensuring that Action Civics is becoming a global movement and can’t wait to see the types of issues young people begin to tackle in their communities.”

Scott Warren, Founder of Generation Citizen and Fellow at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University

“yChange is a fantastic, practical Civics & Citizenship opportunity that allows students to pursue their interests and passions.  The best Civics & Citizenship education programs use real-world examples and practical strategies – yChange is going to ignite passion for advocacy and community action in South Australian classrooms.”

Natalie Young, Community Education Office, Parliament of South Australia