Youth Link-Up: Art, Stories & Wellbeing (Youth Week NSW 2026)
Description
Youth Link-Up: Art, Stories & Wellbeing
Looking to meet new people in a space that feels real, safe and welcoming?
As part of Youth Week 2026, Yes Help Network, in collaboration with the City of Parramatta, is hosting a youth-led connection event designed to create meaningful conversations, creativity, and community 🤍 This is open to young people.
Founded by Yeshal Mansoor, Yes Help Network is committed to creating inclusive spaces where young people feel seen, heard and connected.
🗓 Date: Friday, 24th April 2026
⏰ Time: 4 PM – 7 PM
📍 Location: Launch Pad Parramatta, Level 1 Hassall Street, Parramatta NSW
🎟 FREE (Registration required)
What’s happening:
🎨 Creative expression through Pixel Art Workshop Featuring artist Emma Pham.
💬 “Speed friending” rounds (no awkward small talk, we promise)
🧠 Conversations on identity, resilience and belonging
🍽 FREE food
This is a low-pressure, inclusive space to:
– Meet new people
– Build meaningful connections
– Feel a sense of belonging
Spots are limited
Lineup
🎨 Featured Artist: Emma Pham
Emma Pham (b. 1999, Sydney, Australia; lives and works on Dharug and Dharawal lands, South-West Sydney) is an artist whose practice revolves around digital storytelling, memory and Vietnamese spirituality; encouraging a return to her roots. Her practice wrestles with contested histories from an anti-imperial perspective, offering alternative narratives through a digital and material lens. By invoking nostalgia, her work hopes to forge new pathways from the kitschy margins of the internet, local cultures in Western Sydney as well as global histories.
🐞 Founder: Yeshal Mansoor
Yeshal Mansoor is a youth advocate, community worker and founder of Yes Help Network. She is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces where young people can connect, share stories and feel a sense of belonging. Through her work, Yeshal focuses on mental health, identity, cultural barriers and intergenerational challenges affecting young people, particularly within diverse communities. Her approach is grounded in lived experience and community-led practice. At Youth Link-Up, Yeshal will open the space and guide the event experience, supporting conversations around connection, wellbeing and belonging as part of Youth Week 2026.
🎤 Speaker: Joshua Santos
Joshua Santos is a highly engaged community leader and social innovator, dedicated to empowering young people and strengthening civic participation. Joshua has contributed to the development of the City of Parramatta Youth Inclusion Framework and currently serves as NSW Hub Lead for Catalyst Now, a member of Generation West (Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue), and the youngest Board Director at NARRA Co-Op, supporting Filipino-Australian arts, culture and innovation initiatives. He is a 2026 Ambassador for Culture and the Arts, recognised for his contributions to youth leadership, multicultural engagement, and community-driven change.
🎤 Speaker: Hadiya Fatima
Hadiya Fatima is a youth activist and public speaker dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people and creating pathways for meaningful social change. She is passionate about making civic life more accessible, inclusive and engaging for her generation. Recognised with an Order of Australia youth award, Hadiya also serves as the first Federal Youth Member for Parramatta, representing young people at a national level in the Federal House of Representatives. She is the founder of Project Girlhood, a youth-led platform powered by over 100 volunteers, delivering workshops, community forums and initiatives that turn youth voice into action. At Youth Link-Up, Hadiya brings a powerful perspective on identity, advocacy and the role young people play in shaping their communities.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
