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Youth Advisory Group - In conversation with Taje Fowler

As part of our regular Youth Advisory Group Q&A series, we are excited to introduce you to Taje Fowler.

Tell us a bit about you! Where are you from, what do you do, and what are some of your passions/interests?

My name is Taje, and I am a proud Aboriginal woman, a descendant of the Wurundjeri nation, through my mother's side, I am also connected to the Wiradjuri nation, specifically Narromine. I have been living in Maningrida, in West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, for the past three years.

I am passionate about supporting young people in a holistic way. Too often, young people are viewed as problems or talked about rather than being listened to. My strength lies in listening and showing mutual respect to help build young people up through their strengths. I work for an organisation called Nja-marleya Cultural Leaders and Justice Group, where we support youth wellbeing programs for Maningrida and the surrounding homelands. Additionally, I am currently completing my master's in counselling.

My dream is to see all young people, regardless of their background, be holistically supported to live their best lives.

What is your connection to rural and regional Australia?

Narromine is my home; it’s where I grew up, and my family still lives there. I will always feel a connection to Narromine, Dubbo, and the young people who live there. That’s why I’m honoured to be part of the YAG team, it allows me to support young people even though I no longer live there.

You have been a member of our Youth Advisory Group for six months now. What has been the highlight of the process so far?

The highlight for me is reading and learning about creative ways people have thought outside the box to support young people. It really shows that there are many people doing amazing things with or without funding, finding ways to put the dreams of young people into action.

YAG member Taje Fowler

What is one issue facing young people that you would like to highlight to our readers?

I believe we often focus too much on discussing issues and not enough on taking action and finding solutions. A recent example of this came from the first-ever youth summit we hosted in Maningrida. During conversations with young people, they expressed a desire to have their voices heard, so we made it happen. As a result, we gathered insights on what young people would like to see more of in their community.

Backing the Future does this well by supporting grassroots solutions, because we all know that backing community-led solutions drives impactful change in the issues affecting young people.