This research project reviews and evaluates the Heywire Rural Youth Initiative, a youth leadership scheme devised by the ABC specifically for youth who live in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia. Unlike most youth leadership strategies currently operating in Australia, this initiative is not administered by a Commonwealth or State government agency. Consequently, the manner by which participants are selected and the leadership program itself, are quite different.
The youth cohort has not been widely researched in the past. Youth in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia in particular, are being increasingly valued as the potential future of communities that are currently undergoing unprecedented environmental, economic and social change. This report contributes valuable insights to the perceptions, aspirations and even the frustrations of young, non-metropolitan people, regarding their future in rural, regional and remote Australia.