Youth Hub
A space for young people with disability
On this page, you will find information about CYDA’s youth programs, opportunities, youth led advocacy and content created by young people with disability.
![Two young people grinning as they hold up an instagram cutout with with National Youth Disability Summit branding, including a plane and a Canberra cityscape. They are in an event space, and there are people milling about at tables behind them.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/circle_600_NYDS_instgram_cutout_jess_kay.png)
Graphic of a plane flying in front of the sun over a Canberra cityscape. Text reads: “National Youth Disability Summit”.
National Youth Disability Summit
The Summit is CYDA’s annual event where young people with disability gather (online and in person) to talk about the issues that matter to them, learn about and develop their advocacy, and have a real say about their futures.
![Dream employment network. Large banner.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/fullwidth_2400_DREAM_Logo.jpg)
Join the Network!
The DREAM (Disability Representation Employment & Accessibility Mission) Network is for:
Young people with disability looking for leadership and career opportunities.
Employers with an interest in learning about, or providing, accessible employment.
Image: A young woman with fair skin and long blonde hair, wearing headphones, sitting at a computer with hands on keyboard and looking to her left into camera and smiling.
Young Leaders Programs
CYDA is supporting local organisation to run regional/rural Young Leaders Programs for young people with disability. Applications will open in August 2024.
Youth led advocacy
Young people with disability are leading the way at CYDA, working directly on our policy and research, election platforms and as delegates to the United Nations.
Image: Text in a blue blob reads: “Young, powerful, engaged”.
Opinion pieces and interviews by young people with disability.
![A photo of a group of young people around a circular table in a brightly lit conference room. The group is engaged in deep discussion. Papers, cups, a tablet, and other materials are scattered across the white tablecloth. Wavy black, light blue, white, and orange lines border the image to the left and right.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/featured_2400_Louise_Blog_NYDS-1-768x402.jpg)
My time at Summit 2024
CYDA Youth Councillor Louise Weekley gives a day-by-day account of their time at this year’s National Youth Disability Summit.
![A photo of some of CYDA’s Youth Council in a well-lit room in front of a green, orange and white banner featuring the CYDA logo. Three people at the front of the group, including Ezra on the right, are sitting on colourful beanbags. Ezra and another young person are holding a cardboard cutout made to look like an Instagram post with the text “National Youth Disability Summit 2024.” The Summit's logo sits top right.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/featured_2400_Ezra_EmpowermentBlog_NYDS-768x402.jpg)
My empowerment journey
CYDA Youth Councillor Ezra Burnett reflects on what they’ve learned about identity, empowerment, and self-advocacy.
![A photograph shows a group of four young people in front of a pair of iron metal doors. They are all smiling at the camera. The young person on the left is using a wheelchair and has a small brown dog on her lap. The image is framed by a thick tilted border coloured orange, white, light blue, and black.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/featured_2400_Caitlin_WhatIf_NYDS-768x402.jpg)
Reimagining ‘What If’
Caitlin Blanch on what CYDA’s National Youth Disability Summit taught her about the power of solidarity and asking the right questions.
![Text reads "The Disabled Employee". Under the text are three stick figures, one with shoulder length curly hair wearing sunglasses, one with long blond hair using a power wheelchair, and one with purple highlights in their hair holding a cane. In the bottom right corner, hands are typing on a laptop with various snacks and computer equipment strewn about.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Disabled-Employee-2500-x-1256-V2-768x402.png)
The Disabled Employee Podcast – Episode 2: Ableism and Adjustments
Thanh, Britt and Dureece talk about accessing reasonable adjustments in the workplace, overcoming internalised ableism and dealing with discrimination in the workplace.
![A photograph shows a young woman walking through a passenger boarding bridge with glass windows overlooking an airport's tarmac. She is wearing a green jacket, blue denim jeans, a brown backpack, and is pulling a black wheeled suitcase behind her. She has long dark blonde hair. Other passengers are walking in front of her. White text on purple and blue rectangles read: "Accessible Travel Tips for young people with disability."](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/featured_2400_Accessible_Travel_Tips-1-768x402.jpg)
Accessible Travel Tips
Caitlin Blanch breaks down how to prepare and what to bring when travelling as a young person with disability.
![A photograph shows a woman with long brown hair in a white t-shirt under an open light blue button-up shirt. The woman has a black prosthetic right arm and is wearing a virtual reality headset.](https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/featured_2400_The_Platform_artifical_intelligence_unfamiliarity-768x402.jpg)
Embracing the unfamiliar: AI and assistive tech
Caitlin Blanch explores how overcoming fear of the unfamiliar and embracing new technologies can empower people with disability.