Hindu Youth Australia - SA Chapter

Hindu Youth Australia (HYA) is the youth wing of Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia Incorporated (VHP). HYA has taken the challenge to provide unity, leadership and education to the Australian Hindu community, especially the youth. HYA is a non-profit social organisation committed to strengthening the identity of Australian Hindus, especially the youth.

Our aim is to establish a national identity for Hindu Youth Australia within 2-3 years and to promote the applicability and relevance of Hinduism to contemporary life in Australia.

This group was officially launched on the 11th of April, 2009 at the 2nd Australian Hindu Conference held at University of Western Sydney Rydalmere in NSW, where many youth expressed a number of concerns and requests, including:

• The distinct lack of unity amongst various Hindu groups

• Loss of identity for this and future generations due to misunderstanding, confusion and lack of information

• Being racially stereotyped in social and professional circles due to media misconceptions and misrepresentations

• Desire to integrate dharma into their Australian lifestyles

• The need for community support from the wider Hindu community

This group was officially launched on the 11th of April, 2009 at the 2nd Australian Hindu Conference held at University of Western Sydney Rydalmere in NSW, where many youth expressed a number of concerns and requests, including:

• The distinct lack of unity amongst various Hindu groups

• Loss of identity for this and future generations due to misunderstanding, confusion and lack of information

• Being racially stereotyped in social and professional circles due to media misconceptions and misrepresentations

• Desire to integrate dharma into their Australian lifestyles

• The need for community support from the wider Hindu community

With unanimous support, HYA was launched and our first task was to fulfil the needs of the community by preparing for the 1st Australian Hindu Youth Conference (AHYC2010), for which the theme of the conference is “Developing Leadership Amongst Young Australian Hindus”.

In the last 5 years, HYA has marked many wins, including:

• Representation at the Ganeshotsova in Sydney

• Being involved in the “Temple Clean Up” at the Sri Venketeshwara Temple in Helensburgh, in the Illawara region of NSW

• Representation on a multi-faith speaker panel at a Parliament of World Religions event

• Financial support by the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration

• Representation at YogaAid – a charity fundraising event that required participants to complete 108 sun salutations in return for donations

• A calendar of events to create unity, support, and awareness amongst the Hindu Youth community of Australia

• Delegate participation in the World Hindu Youth Conference 2013 (Bali)

• Delegate participation in the World Hindu Economic Forum 2013 (Bangkok)

Our 5-year plan is to have annual conferences and a number of annual educational, spiritual and social events, that will consist of:

• Pilgrimage to sacred Hindu sites

• Retreats and spiritual camps

• Conference, forums, workshops and training programs

• Charity fundraisers

• Sanskrit and dharma classes

• Participation in the broader Australian community