Youth Leadership During The Polycrisis: What is to be done?

By Indigo Atkinson (current Global Voices CEO) and Elly Hanrahan (former Global Voices CEO)

Global Voices is a youth-led and run not-for-profit that upskills young Australians in policy and diplomacy. Our six-month policy fellowship sees a cohort of young Australians develop policy papers in response to gaps in the domestic legislation and then attend an international multilateral forum - like the UNGA, the Y20, or the Climate COP - to gauge how international headwinds impact the domestic policy landscape. Our strategic partnership with the Menzies Leadership Foundation enables Global Voices to invest in our Global Voices fellows, while also supporting our executive team, who deliver our incredible programs. At a time of polycrisis, it has never been more crucial to provide young Australians with practical leadership learning experiences, enabling them to navigate and have their voices heard in the rooms where decisions about our collective futures are made.

As Elly Hanrahan’s tenure as CEO drew to a close, the new CEO, Indigo Atkinson, sat down to chat with her about their respective journeys into leadership, international relations, and what it means to centre purpose in your work. 

Conversation has been edited for clarity.

[Indi] It’s been a month since you stepped down as CEO. First of all, have you had a good nap? 

I have had a really excellent sleep, thank you for asking.

And second of all, Global Voices certainly owes you an enormous debt of gratitude. I know for certain it would not be where it is today without your leadership. With a little bit of time under your belt to reflect, what do you think you are most proud of from your time as CEO?

If anything, it’s me who owes Global Voices an enormous debt of gratitude. It’s such a rare opportunity that I was given, and although it was pretty arduous, I know I’ll be grateful for the experience for the rest of my life.

As a very small volunteer team, we did so much over the last two years that we should all be proud of; introducing the World Food Forum, AI For Good, UN General Assembly delegations into our offerings, pulling off a miraculous funding pivot when our major partnership source dried up essentially overnight and then going on to achieve the highest year of funding on record, breaking records for Fellow recruitment, significantly uplifting the quality of our published policies... there are probably things I’ve missed.

But honestly, none of that would have been possible without an incredible team that sacrificed time with family and friends, weekends, personal leave, and holidays. They committed to the vision of providing second-to-none opportunities for young Australians to upskill in policy and diplomacy. The thing I’m proudest of is building a team of dedicated and driven young people who joined me on a very wild journey of growth and disruption. I’m so lucky that I now get to call them lifelong friends.

But you’re now officially a month into leading Global Voices; how has it been?

[Indi] I think you and I share a passion for not doing things by halves! It has been a really exciting time to step up as CEO with the whole team coming down from organising three delegations in one week and then jumping straight into organising recruitment for semester one 2026 fellows - which, as you said, just goes to show that there is no Global Voices without our incredible executive team. We’ve welcomed a new Chief Operating Officer, and he and I have been game-planning how we can grow the number and the diversity of fellows we graduate through the Global Voices Fellowship in 2026. Then, you and I have also continued to work together on the upcoming Menzies Leadership Podcast, and I’ve been writing for the Young Diplomat Society, and I’ve been crafting endless beautiful dad jokes to impose on the team, and I’ve been moving houses… yeah, we definitely don’t do things by halves!

It’s not every organisation that inspires such dedication from its staff - what do you think it is about Global Voices that is so unique? And, what was your ‘why’ for pouring your all into it as CEO?

There is nothing that isn’t special about Global Voices. It has profoundly changed so many people’s lives, not to mention my own. When Ally Valerio called me and offered me the position on the COP27 Fellowship, I think I asked, are you sure? I just could not believe that I was going to get that kind of opportunity. Why should a kid from regional QLD get to go to something as prestigious as a UN conference? I was working as a seasonal forest firefighter at the time; it just felt so unlikely that I would do anything meaningful with my life.

I still vividly remember every detail of that conference: getting my pass, walking to the Australian pavilion and meeting actual UN negotiators, speaking on a panel at the UN, meeting with the UNFCCC Secretariat Director, and meeting the Minister for Climate Change. All of a sudden, I saw myself as a completely different person; I was someone who met with these important people in these important places, and all of a sudden, I had something to say and contribute to the world.

From that moment, I was all in on Global Voices and dedicated every minute to being able to provide the same sort of life-changing opportunity for other young Australians. It’s been so rewarding to watch Fellows’ worlds open up, watching career paths they never even knew existed unfurling before them.

You have a bit of a different journey into Global Voices, but you’re every bit as passionate about the organisation as I am. What’s your why, and how has that informed where you want to take the organisation?

[Indi] Yeah, I often make light of taking the long way into international relations via commercial fishing boats… which is true! I remember being 21 on a Kiwi fishing trawler that was crewed by Russians and Ukrainians (before Russia’s 2022 invasion, of course), chasing squid to be sold on the international market. The thought that I might one day be leading and attending international, UN-affiliated delegations was pretty farcical. So, like you, I’m incredibly passionate about providing these opportunities to young Australians to realise that our leaders are just people, so there’s no reason why they couldn’t also become one of these leaders! 

However, I think that, fundamentally, the multilateral system is struggling. Particularly in academic circles, the word polycrisis has been thrown around a little, and I think it is quite apt. Across our domestic landscape and particularly throughout the international community, there are these disparate crises that are cascading through globalised networks to compound into something worse than the sum of any individual crisis. That being said, these systems are very much in motion, and I see no reason to stop trying just because it’s hard. Understanding how to navigate the domestic policy landscape and speak the language of multilateral institutions is a matter of existential importance, and I think Global Voices provides the hands-on upskilling of no other organisation. 

I want to ensure that more young Australians have the opportunity to learn to write good policy and attend these life-changing conferences, like the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Members of the Sir Ninian Stephen’s Law Delegation that attended the UNGA 6th Committee in 2025 had their work cited in legislation going before parliament and had the media pick up on their individual policy proposals. While this is a cherry on the cake, it’s a sign that there is appetite for new ideas that young leaders bring. I want to expand the number of young people coming through our program and who gain the skills necessary not just to survive the polycrisis, but who might just be able to map us a way out. Keep an eye on this space as I work to launch the Global Voices podcast in 2026 too…

Historically speaking, young people have been underrepresented in the halls of power - although this is, thankfully, changing! What do you think people still get wrong about youth organisations and youth leadership?

So much, but I understand why. Our leadership cohort has steadily grown older and older over the last couple of hundred years. Most of Australia’s decision makers today are over 60 years old, so we’re used to seeing older people in these kinds of positions, and that’s probably why young people are not seen as useful people to listen to. 

However, young people are incredibly capable, have the drive, energy and passion to make a difference, and are inherently long-term thinkers; they’ll be living with the consequences of the decisions made today for the next 50 or so years.

Some of my favourite memories with GV have been the moments watching higher-level people (think MPs, UN Directors, World Bank presidents), who have walked into the meeting probably thinking it’s going to be a pleasant photo opportunity with a bunch of kids… Then, they get asked the first question and have to sit up straight in their chair as they realise they’ve walked into a meeting with a group of passionate subject matter experts who are also well-trained in policy.

Is that how you view it as well? What are some of the themes that have come up in this round of recruitment?

[Indi] I think young people worldwide are hungry for purpose – we want the world to live up to its most perfect ideals. The young people applying for Global Voices have the ideas and the passion to see them through and might just change the world yet. I do think, though, that there is an undercurrent of cynicism within the wider community and especially among young people. However, it is rooted in this belief that the world should live up to its most perfect ideals. 

And this goes back to what I was saying about living through this huge shift in multilateralism and this age of, not to be dramatic, but polycrisis. If we aren’t given the opportunities to practise leadership skills early and often, I don’t think we can, hand on heart, say we’ve set our young people up for success. So, I am exceptionally passionate about working with strategic partners like the Menzies Leadership Foundation to give young people those opportunities, particularly on the international stage. I think it’s time to get to work and start doing what needs to be done to move the needle toward a more perfect world.

What advice do you have for young leaders who want to start making change? How do we find purpose through action?

Why shouldn’t the world live up to the most perfect ideals? Our current and past leaders have a lot to answer for. The world is very far from how it should be; it is not equitable, nor sustainable, nor healthy. My advice to young people is to demand better and then get to work. We have a big task ahead of us, there is absolutely no time to wait, or doubt yourself, or think that someone who is more talented than you will probably solve it.

The best advice I have for anyone is to volunteer somewhere and build the skills that you would otherwise need a decade or so to acquire if you waited around for someone to pay you to do it.

Jeez, I mean if I can be a CEO, anyone can surely do anything!

I think you’re too modest, Elly. Global Voices owes you an enormous debt of gratitude, and I look forward to continuing your legacy and work to ensure more young Australian leaders are nurtured and that their ideas go on to change the world. 

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The views and opinions expressed by Global Voices Fellows do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation or its staff.