We are delighted to announce the dates for the first National Youth HUmanities Forum: Monday January 18th to Friday 22nd, 2027.

Humanities for Life is in dialogue with the National Library of Australia, Rotary Canberra and other prospective partners to inaugurate this annual opportunity for students from all over Australia.

INTRODUCING THE AUSTRALIAN YOUTH HUMANITIES FORUM
an initiative of Humanities for Life

The Australian Youth Humanities Forum aims at encouraging thinking, reading, interpreting, speaking, debating, and writing skills amongst year 11-12 secondary school students, on the model of the Australian Youth Science Forum. Following a competitive selection process, we intend to invite a number of students from all over Australia onto the Australian National University campus in the second half of January, where they will be housed in student residences for 5 days, from Monday through Friday, under the immediate care of university postgraduate students acting as event ‘mentors’. During the Forum, the students will attend a rich program of interactive lectures delivered by experts in a variety of different humanities disciplines and participate in tutorials and workshops.

With the assistance of partner institutions, afternoon visits to the nation’s cultural institutions will be arranged, where the students will undertake specific observational, reflective, and creative tasks (alternating with organised recreation in the form of swimming and bushwalking). In the evenings, there will be musical recitals, cinema, and visits to the theatre, with the whole Forum closing with a performance of scenes from plays and other entertainments conceived and rehearsed by the students themselves.

Australian Youth Humanities Forum (AYHF) is designed to introduce the humanities and creative arts to the next generation, developing skills of critical appreciation and public speaking to enhance their cultural education and creative responsiveness.