Young People Leading Change
Oaktree is Australia’s largest youth-led international development organisation. We believe that young people, especially those closest to the challenges, should be the ones leading the solutions.
Donate today and be part of a future led by young people with bold ideas to create lasting change.
Our Movement
At Oaktree, we support and uplift youth-led organisations across the Asia-Pacific who are tackling inequality, climate injustice, and community challenges with courage and creativity. Here in Australia, we empower young people with the skills, confidence and experience to lead change in their own communities and beyond.
This is a critical moment for our organisation in the face of a 50% projected decine in international aid by 2027. With your support, we can continue backing the next generation of changemakers who are building a fairer, more sustainable world for us all.
So far, we've empowered over
50,000 young people
15
Youth-led organisations across the Asia-Pacific have been supported through the OYSF.
+13,000
Young people have been empowered through our educational programs and workshops.
30
communities across the Asia-Pacific have benefited from Oaktree’s international projects.
Our Youth Run Model
Our organisation is powered entirely by people under the age of 27. Over the last 18 years, we have upskilled a generation of changemakers in Australia with the knowledge to champion sustainable development. They have led political movements, which saw the government increase our foreign aid budget. They have been upskilled in advocacy, fundraising, financial management and every other aspect of effective social change. Our Alumni have gone on to found their own companies, become ministerial advisors, or have developed into agents of change.
Alumni Testimonials
“To see young people who weren’t embarrassed that they were young, who were saying ‘we want better and we want it now’ - that sense of agency and empowerment I had never seen before - I carry that with me in all work and life now. Oaktree taught me to speak up and stand strong.”
Yasmin Poole - Current National Ambassador for Plan International
"Oaktree teaches young people an important lesson: that you don’t have to wait. As young people we’re often told that we don’t have a right to contribute until we have “experience”. Oaktree reminds us that our lived experiences are just as valid, if not more so, when it comes to the issues and solutions that impact us most as young people..."
Kareem El-Ansary - Current Ministerial Advisor
“Oaktree (harshly) taught me that when one door closes, another opens. Being okay with rejection has been instrumental for the rest of my life. You just can’t give up - and that is the basis of advocacy.”
Jahin Tanvir - Current CEO of the Australian School of Entrepreneurship
