Step Up!

Step Up! Sydney | Richard Trang

Step Up! Naarm | Barreno Studios

Step Up! is a campaigning and community organising training program designed to support young people from communities impacted by oppression and injustice to build the skills, confidence, and connections needed to build power and drive structural change.

Building on learnings from the 2024 pilot, in 2025, FYA delivered Step Up! in Naarm (Melbourne) and Dharug Country (Western Sydney), supporting participants to strengthen their campaigning practice through practical skill-building, case studies, shared learning, and peer connection across justice movements.

Highlights from the events were our First Nations speakers, which included Barmadagal knowledge holder Linda Sainsbury, Wiradjuri and Torres Strait Islander activist Lynda June Coe and Krauatungalung (Gunaikurnai) and Djapwurrung (Gunditjmara) man Uncle Robbie Thorpe, and our case studies from Blak Caucus, BDS Youth, Free West Papua and Unimelb for Palestine.

[I gained] confidence. I've never felt capable of making change...and never understood how it could be possible. I genuinely have a much more solid understanding of what to do and where to start, and how to find help when I need it"

— StepUp! participant, Naarm August 2025

Highlights

01

49 Participants participated in Step Up! Across two events on Dharug Country, and Wurundjeri Country

02

Participants represented a wide range of movements, including climate justice, housing, anti-racism, refugee rights, mental health, gender justice, and queer liberation

03

Meeting people from different movements and communities was the highlight for many participants. It strengthened their sense of connection and motivation, and made change feel more doable