The University of Life - now open for all young Australians

Thirdly, the Young People Without Borders vision is to extend this opportunity to all young Australians. A key component is to ensure that young people from low socio-economic and Indigenous backgrounds are afforded the same chances as their more affluent peers. Research by Demos UK has shown that people from disadvantaged backgrounds stand to benefit enormously from the experience of volunteering.

Finally, and crucially, Young People Without Borders differs from a 'gap year' by engaging with young people, from when they enter high school, in a five-year volunteering and social engagement program built on the disciplines of fundraising, volunteering and saving for their Start Year. Using a currency we have called 'creds', the young person unlocks 'rewards' at various stages and levels of achievement in fundraising , volunteering and contributing to their school or community. This will enable each young person to pay their own way through their Start Year, rather than relying on handouts. The Start Year is the culmination of this five-year program, not an isolated, extended holiday at the end of school.

Young People Without Borders is now underway. What began as an idea about creating a new rite of passage and embedding contribution into the DNA of a generation of young people has become so much more. An initial cohort of over 200 young people will leave Australia for placements in Asia this year, and these trailblazers will lay down pathways for tens of thousands of young people in the years and decades ahead.

It would be short-sighted to think that Young People Without Borders is just a new take on volunteering and giving back. It's actually tapping into the zeitgeist of a generation of young people aged 12 to 30 - affectionately known as Gen Ys,'Echo Boomers' (which their parents love, and they hate of course!) or, as MTV has renamed them, "Generation Innovation" - a generation of creators, entrepreneurs and innovators who will drastically reshape the world in terms of its cultural, commercial and civic spheres.

The overarching goal of this program is to build a generation of young people who know themselves, know the world and know the contributions they are capable of making. While no single program is a panacea, by opening the doors to the University of Life and unleashing young people's courage, imagination and will, Young People Without Borders will make a significant contribution to shaping a happier and stronger Australia, and a better world, in the years ahead.