“It seemed that everything is wrong and everything is right with the world.” – how young people contribute to solving issues that affect their communities.

May Miller-Dawkins, Program Coordinator, Oxfam International Youth Parliament, Sydney, Australia

“It was such an unbelievably rewarding experience to see 301 young, enthusiastic change leaders from 92 countries coming together in Sydney in 2004 for our 2nd meeting.” – says May, program coordinator of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament (OIYP) with wide open, shining eyes. “They are all 18-25 years old and already address a wide variety of global problems ranging from HIV/AIDS, Indigenous Rights to sustainable development and peace building. During the parliament sitting, they get time and support to develop and discuss action plans for their activities, they can exchange knowledge, experience and ideas.”
It is May and her colleagues’ jobs to support and develop the network, to provide strategic and financial support, skill development programs, ongoing alliance building initiatives and to encourage research and information exchange. May is not much older and not less active than the young people she supports. She has been and still is engaged in a number of activities, like organizing conferences and creating web platforms, and she seems to be at least as passionate about her job with the parliament. What unifies her with the delegates is the fact that they all don’t just discuss but actually implement practical solutions to often global issues, just within their local possibilities.

Enjoy reading selected thoughts and statements of our discussion with May in the quotations below. You may be able to read more about the diverse initiatives she is helping to promote with OIYP in our book “MyImpact”.

May’s selected quotations:
"Young people are the drivers of change in the world. They know their communities and their problems well, and their best resource is each other. That’s where we try to create a space to support them."

“I feel satisfied when I see that I can contribute to change, when I get the sense of meaningful engagement. And that’s what I am getting every day in my work here.”

“For me it was always about doing things that are necessary. I don’t think a traditional career – in law, corporations, even politics – would give me that feeling.”

“The experience of the youth meeting was extraordinary. All the shit happening in this world was just there, represented by people who try to clean it up. It seemed there was everything that is wrong and everything that is right with this world.”

“I don’t have a feeling of sacrifice. The fact that I am not making as much money as some of my friends that work for big corporations, is not an issue. As well as them, I do work long hours. The good thing is that I come home satisfied and my work also nourishes my personal relationships rather than being a load on them.”

“Why would people spend so much time doing things that are not important?”

Some background on May Miller-Dawkins:
May Miller-Dawkins was born in Western Australia, however, she went to high-school in Sydney. Very early in her life she started first initiatives together with her brother, creating spaces for young people to be politically active. They organized conferences, started Nexus - Australian Youth Network and later vibewire.org that May’s brother is still running successfully.
Still during university time, May met Brett who founded the International Youth parliament and asked her to join his project at Oxfam. May first volunteered for two years and, after graduating in Politics and Law, she got a position working there. Today a lot of her work is about keeping the network of 300 youth alive and productive by facilitating communication and platforms for exchange between members of the network.

Some background on the Oxfam International Youth Parliament:
The Oxfam International Youth Parliament (OIYP) was officially established with its first sitting in 2000 in Sydney. The idea of its founder, Brett Solomon, to create a space to stimulate discussions, create and cultivate lifelong networks, build skills to increase the effectiveness of young leaders, and develop practical solutions for global issues has become reality. The young social change leaders coming together for the OIYP sittings and then implementing their plans in their local communities are united by a common vision of a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world. They also share a commitment to turning ideas into action and creating global impact by local solutions.
The action plans of OIYP 2004 address nine issues of fundamental importance globally: HIV/AIDS, peace-building, education, labor & development, indigenous rights, sustainable development & agriculture, human rights, health and youth culture & empowerment. The plans promise to deliver real change where it is most needed.

If you would like to engage with the work of May Miller-Dawkins or get to know more about the Oxfam International Youth Parliament please visit www.iyp.oxfam.org, or, for more specific opportunities, contact joanna.stefanska@myimpact.ch or wolfgang.hafenmayer@myimpact.ch directly.