Youth Action for Change

Youth Action for Change (YAC) is an innovative international youth run non-profit organization which equips young people with knowledge and skills that enable them to directly get involved in improving their communities livelihoods.

YAC employs a ‘leveraged impact’ model. We believe that young people have enormous untapped potential and can be very effective in instigating positive change in their communities. Our work involves training and supporting young people so that they are empowered to then instigate positive community development projects and train their peers on vital development issues.

YAC implements its work through two key streams, free online action focused courses and through instigating targeted grass roots youth empowerment projects.

YAC was conceived during the second sitting of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament, an Oxfam International initiative which was held in Australia in 2004. After noticing that many young people around the world were wanting to get involved in improving their communities, but desired the skills on how to do so, YAC was established to help teach such skills.

Recently invited to the World Economic Forum as a “young global leader” YAC has come a long way from humble beginnings. Its pioneering approach to empowering young people in communities around the world through online based action focused education has inspired dozens of youth-originated community projects in developing nations. YAC was profiled in the World Bank’s World Development report, and has been recognized by organizations including The United Nations, The Council of Europe, Ashoka, Youth Action Net and Art Action.

YAC has been the first organisation of this kind.

YAC now reaches thousands of youths in over 130 countries worldwide, and due to its innovative programs is a recipient of the Youth Action Net Award by the International Youth Foundation and Nokia, the World Aware Education Award of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and has been featured in many national and international media outlet, including the World Bank's 'World Development Report 2007', several publications by the UN, Oxfam, Associated Press, SBS Radio, La Repubblica, RAI and many more.

The following map shows YAC's global footprint: