The collaboration between YES and I.LEAD has become a breeding ground for innovation and ingenuity, with projects and social initiatives being developed and augmented daily, to meet the needs and aspirations of youth with disabilities within our community.

One such project that has come out of the woodwork is “30 under 30”, a social media campaign created with the aim of amplifying the profiles, views and voices of youth with disabilities in Aotearoa, showcasing the amazing work they do.

Much like the “Humans of...” series, we are looking to profile 30 youth with disabilities who are currently doing amazing things in their community, whatever that looks like. Starting in August, one profile will be showcased each week for 30 weeks on all our social media and online platforms. Some of the youth with disabilities from our I.LEAD Committee will also be interviewing those profiled as part of our Thursday Facebook Live updates.

This is all to showcase not only the amazing work youth with disabilities do currently, but also their potential as future leaders of the disability sector. YES has always been an advocate for empowering youth with disabilities to celebrate their achievements and realise their ‘big dream’, and “30 under 30” was hand-made in collaboration with youth representatives from our I.LEAD Committee to help meet this need.

We are currently looking for applicants who want to be featured in this series. If you are a young person under 30 years of age, have lived experience of a disability, and want to be part of the action, send through a bio of who you are, what you do, and your amazing achievement, success, skill or work.

Contact us on Facebook (fb.com/ileadconferencenz) or by email (jamiem@yesdisability.org.nz) for more information and to submit your application.