Thank Tank: A Global Youth Think Tank and Consultancy

Thank tank is a Global Youth Think Tank and Consultancy that connects business, industry and government to our youth consultants and global community.

Through our innovative program, young people (12-25) around the world develop their interpersonal, technical and work ready skills through engagement, education and economic and workforce participation.

 Young people remain the silent voice in organisations, communities and economies across the globe.

Issues:

-        Opportunities for innovative solutions to amplify youth participation and impact in education and the new economy

-         High barriers in finding flexible workplace pathways and meaningful opportunities for work for the ever-changing future

-         Organisations and businesses working globally without the voice an input of one of their primary stakeholders: Young people

To build agile, innovative, diverse economies, we need to collaborate to develop the capacity of young people both locally, nationally and globally so that they may take carriage of writing their future.

The youth employment and economic participation challenge is a global one. In a new world of work, it is skill, willingness to learn and collaborate, innovation and agility that leads the new work order.  

I respond to the call by the UN Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth: Connect, empower, and employ our youth.

Age and inexperience is no barrier to success in engaging to innovate some of the most pressing issues of our age. Our young people are the change they wish to see: now hear their voice.

Thank tank aims to empower, educate and employ young people across the world through connected global communities. With opportunities to connect to both employers, industry and government, youth empowerment is amplified through participation in employment, public policy, advocacy and enterprise development.

It will be deployed through a variety of mediums, with technology being the primary driving force to connect our youth consultants globally. We aim to reach every corner of the world through partnerships and innovative online and offline mediums.

300 organisations will engage a youth consultant by 2020 - Organisations will increase inclusivity and diversity by including young people in high performance teams, boards and organisations to provide opportunities for meaningful work

1000 young people will complete the Thank Tank diploma by 2020 - Young people develop their future work readiness skills to engage in the changing workforce

Young people develop into creative, confident and resilient global citizens who actively engage in developing, advocating and contributing to global issues of interest to them through Thank Tank and beyond. - Young people are empowered to amplify their voice across industry, government and organisations across the world

Thank tank disrupts the traditional think tank model by incorporating meaningful opportunities for employment and economic participation through sector blind collaboration with industry, organizations and government. Our youth consultants, through a design led journey of education, employment and skill development, will go on to be work-ready in an unknown future through engaging with our Thankfolio, Diploma and #ThankPol tools to drive their work readiness pathways as well as enable collaboration with organisations at a local, national and international level.  

Thank tank is a global  platform built for and driven by young people who wish to fully participate in and transform their world. At every stage of our journey, the collaboration, consideration and amplification of their voice will be incorporated into the DNA of our organisation. All technology tools are designed and driven with the aim of empowering young people to drive their future through education and engagement.

Thank tank is driven through its global community and seeks partnerships (monetary and in-kind support) with organisations across the world who value the diversity and impact of our youth consultants. In targeting young people across the world, we hope to set up a 'user pays' model for our education and work readiness program based on the gross household income of the individual involved. Additionally, through the Thank Tank Foundation, scholarship opportunities will be provided for disadvantaged young people across the world.

Open to opportunities to explore different possibilities. Seeking partners and collaborations as initial seed investors and thank tank champions. The consideration of developing an agile training course and certification for organisations to include young people on their teams and boards would be an area of initial exploration. Opportunities for organisations to post business and industry challenges and collaborations for our youth consultants to solve would also be another opportunity to generate income in the initial phase of development.

1. As a very young organisation with a global outlook, the saleability and scalability of the organisation is a primary organisation.

2. Development of innovative edutech platforms to support thankfolio development  

3. Take up by organisations and government

4. Poor design of program

5. Developing deeper clarity of vision and purpose

6. sustaining and expanding program

7. cross border legal and economic considerations

8. Moving towards registering as a B-Corporation as the organisation develops and gains traction

Solve represents the collective genius of like minded individuals and organisations coming together in a genuine effort to solve the world's most pressing issues. Amplification of impact and collaboration is why I solve.

As the organisation is still at a pilot 'post-it-notes' stage, we are currently open to partnerships and collaborations.

My competitors are for-profit job placement agencies and international think tanks