On the evening of July 15, Google hosted a Young Leaders Network event titled "Innovation in Leadership', bringing together around 80 of Sydney's most active and talented young leaders. The Young Leaders Network (YLN) is a new and independent project started by Michael Cao, a recent graduate from Macquarie University, which aims to connect and develop young people who lead not-for-profit organisations.
Attendees included the managing director of the Brightest Young Minds Foundation, the president of the UTS Union, vice president of the University of Sydney union, the chair of Arc, as well as leaders from the Australian Youth Climate Change Coalition, AIESEC, SIFE, and dozens of other youth-run clubs, societies, charities and other student groups.
The night featured presentations on Google history, online marketing strategy, and a very popular live demo of Google Docs and Sites to assist the young leaders with communication and developing an online presence. This was followed by an engaging Q&A session with a panel of Googlers. The discussion focused on Google's management philosophy and how their motto of "don't be evil" is reflected in their business practices.
This exciting event received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from YLN members as everyone took something away from the evening. Emma Lovell, last year's winner of Volunteer of the Year at UTS and active member and leader in 85 Broads said: "Being able to attend an event and meet a whole room full of leaders and entrepreneurial young people like myself was such a great experience. Where else could I find such a high calibre of people all in one room? The discussions are on a higher level and we can directly tackle each other's issues within our clubs and our broader networking associations."
After the event, the night kicked on at Astral Bar with networking drinks kindly sponsored by the UTS Union Ltd. The YLN would like to thank Google for their assistance in making it a truly enjoyable and rewarding evening.
