Hope and Resilience

Exploring experiences of hope and resilience, to support young people as they face the challenges of the future.

Our Vision

Hope, and the positive outlook and motivation that it fosters, can be a driving force for good health and well-being. This project explores diverse experiences of hope for Australian young people, including the relationship between hope and resilience in different cohorts of participants.

In particular, the project addresses the following questions:

• How hopeful do young Australians feel about their future, specifically across the domains of health, employment, environment, politics, and technology?
• How can hopefulness for the future be enhanced in young Australians?
• What are young Australian’s key hopes for the future?

Our Project Plan

For this project, we surveyed 2000 Australian young people aged 12–18 to explore perspectives on, and experiences of, hope. The survey took place from October to December 2023 and involved both quantitative and qualitative measures. It was distributed online by Student Edge, Australia’s largest student member organisation.

As part of this project, we also ran a ‘Messages of Hope’ competition (Jan–Feb 2024), inviting young people to share their own ‘Message of Hope’ with us, and with other young people, in their own creative way.

Project History

It extends on the results of the 2021 UNICEF Australia report (‘Children’s Voices in a Changing World’), contributing to a more extensive research base on young Australians’ hope in a post-pandemic context.

What Impact will this research have?

To support Australian young people in the best possible ways, we need insight into their hopes and dreams. We need to understand the factors that support their hopes for the future, and the barriers that undermine them. We need to listen to them explain how current world events are affecting them, and hear about the key areas of concern they have for their futures. Developing a better understanding of the relationship between hope and resilience is central to supporting young people to overcome the diverse challenges they face in today’s world.

Outcomes

The outcomes of this research will be used to contribute to policy conversations about the needs of young people by highlighting factors that improve their optimism and hopes for the future. The outcomes will also be used to put forward a positive vision of what matters to young people across a range of issues, including: climate change, technology, employment, housing, physical health, mental health, relationships, safety, community, lifestyle, equity and discrimination.

Also, the data created through this research will be used to help reassure adults and young people alike that there are things to hope for in our collective futures, and will encourage young people to continue to aspire to positive futures for themselves, their peers, families and communities.

Collaboration team

Internal collaborators:

• Professor Amanda Third
• Lilly Moody
• Linda Marsden
• Sarah Bacaller
• Stephanie Hannah
• Shima Sardarabady
• Farzana Chowdhury
• Yehansa Dahanayake
• Dr. Pavithra Rajan
• With additional support from Dr. Haider Mannan

External collaborators/Partners:

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation

Project support:

Student Edge (survey distribution)

Funding:

Victorian Government under the auspices of Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies

Streams 

Enhancing Health and Wellbeing

Participation and Engagement

Period

September 2023 – March 2025

Sustainable Development Goals

The project addresses SDG 3:  Ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all ages.

Contact:

If you would like to get in contact with the Hope and Resilience team, please email Sarah Bacaller at sarah.bacaller@westernsydney.edu.au.