Oaktree is an Australian-based,
non-government organisation
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
that specialises in international youth development. Their purpose is to lead, demand and create a more just world. Founded in 2003, the organisation is run by young people aged 16 to 26, and overseen by an advisory board.
Oaktree collaborates with like-minded youth partners in countries including Timor-Leste and Cambodia. Together, they grow the capability and influence of young people across their region.
In Australia, Oaktree focuses on upskilling young people and advocating for the value of youth voices. Their community-driven campaigns connect young Australian voices to decision-makers to influence policy change on issues of justice, like Australian aid.
History
Oaktree was founded in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
by
Hugh Evans and Nicolas Mackay in 2003. After winning a
World Vision
The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...
contest to visit development programs in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, aged 13 years, Evans went on exchange to
Woodstock School
Woodstock School is an international coeducational residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Woodstock is one of the oldest reside ...
in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
in India two years later. A further trip to the rural valley communities of the
KwaZulu-Natal Province
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
in South Africa, where he volunteered with World Vision, saw him return to Melbourne in 2003 and join with Mackay and other young people to establish Oaktree, with the purpose of combating some of the inequalities that Evans had witnessed.
In October 2013, Oaktree launched a new brand and website to mark its 10th birthday.
Oaktree has invested over A$2.5 million into aid development projects between 2003 and 2012.
Mission
The
mission statement
A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...
of Oaktree as of 2018 is "Oaktree is young people leading, demanding and creating a more just world." Oaktree aspires to achieve its mission in three ways:
wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published sources">self-published source?]
# Funding education and leadership projects overseas which build capacity and empower young leaders in the Asia Pacific region.
# Building the capacity and influence of young people in Australia.
# Influencing policy change towards a more just world.
As of October 2013, Oaktree has an office in every
States and territories of Australia, Australian state and in the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
. With 125,000 supporters and 350
volunteer
Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...
staff as at 31 December 2011, Oaktree generated A$1.76 million in
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
.
International development projects
Oaktree supports the following international aid and development:
#
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
: ''Beacon's School Initiative'' by redeveloping school environments to better suit the climate and culture
#
East Timor
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
: ''Youth Livelihoods'' that provides income generation opportunities for youth groups in the
Aileu
Aileu is the main township in Aileu District, East Timor. It is located 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Dili, the national capital, and had a population of 2,788 in 2015.
In Portuguese Timor, the city was known as Vila General Carmona ...
districts
#East Timor: ''Youth Empowerment Peace Building Project'' that builds capacity for young people to prevent, manage and resolve violent situations peacefully and without violence
#
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
: ''HIV/Aids Peer Mentorship Scheme'' that aims to reduce the incidence of HIV infection among high school aged students in the province of KwaZulu Natal
#
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
: ''Men and Women's Vocational Training Project'' that works to address issues of gender inequality, youth unemployment, low literacy rates and lack of vocational training in
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
#Papua New Guinea: ''Yangis Community School Teacher Training'' to give people in the remote location of Yangis a higher education so that a school will be re-opened in their community
In 2022, the foundation launched the Youth Solidarity Fund to support the growth of grassroots youth organisations in the Asia-Pacific region.
National programs
Oaktree runs educational programs that aim to transform Australians into dedicated and effective agents of change in acting on extreme poverty.
''
Live Below the Line
Live Below the Line is an annual anti-poverty campaign run by the Oaktree Foundation. The campaign began as a challenge in which participants would feed themselves on the equivalent of the extreme poverty line for five days to gain an insight int ...
'', run in partnership between Oaktree and the
Global Poverty Project
Global Citizen, also known as Global Poverty Project, is an international education and advocacy organization that seeks to catalyze the movement to end extreme poverty and promote social justice and equity through the lens of intersectionalit ...
, is a five-day extreme poverty awareness and fundraising campaign. The campaign encourages members of the general public in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom to participate in order to develop a better understanding of the daily challenges faced by the 1.4 billion people experiencing extreme poverty. For each of the five days of the campaign the participants are encouraged to limit their food expenditure to the equivalent of the
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...
line, set at 1.25. The participants use their daily experiences to bring extreme poverty to the awareness of others. During 2011, this program generated A$1.4 million from 6,518 participants.
Other smaller programs include ''Generate'' and ''Schools 4 Schools'' focused on advocacy and peer-to-peer education respectively.
In 2009, Oaktree claimed that, together with World Vision and other advocacy groups, their advocacy via the ''End Child Slavery'' campaign contributed to an announcement by
Cadbury Australia that it will change its milk chocolate range to
fair trade sources.
In 2020, Oaktree joined the 'End COVID For All' campaign, a collective group of organisations who support the assistance of vulnerable nations in the light of COVID-19.
Chief Executive Officers
References
External links
The Oaktree websiteMake Poverty History Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oaktree
Youth empowerment organizations
Development charities based in Australia
Organizations established in 2003
Non-profit organisations based in Victoria (state)
Foreign charities operating in Cambodia
Foreign charities operating in Papua New Guinea
Foreign charities operating in South Africa
Foreign charities operating in Timor-Leste
Foundations based in Australia