Accolade for education trailblazer

Avoca Beach resident Phoebe Britten has been awarded the prestigious Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Create Change Award at the 2025 7News Young Achiever Awards.

The recognition honours her trailblazing work as the Founder and CEO of Inspire Tomorrow Education (ITE), a youth-led non-profit delivering free tutoring and scholarship support to disadvantaged students across Australia.

Since 2024, ITE has delivered more than $91,000 in pro-bono tutoring services and 300,000 minutes of mentorship annually – opening doors for students often left behind.

Britten founded ITE at the age of 19 and now leads a volunteer team of more than 150 across six major universities.

ITE is also pioneering Australia’s first AI-powered scholarship database to streamline access to $150M+ in funding for under-represented students.

Britten dedicated the prestigious award to her team, emphasising that their work advancing educational equity across NSW stands as a powerful testament to what can be achieved through collective action.

“I founded Inspire Tomorrow Education because I believe in more than just equality of opportunity; I believe in equality of outcome,” she said.

“Receiving this award shows that our mission to break down barriers to tertiary education in Australia is being recognised and amplified across the country.”

Beyond ITE, Britten is a globally recognised human rights advocate, currently serving as one of only eight Young Trade Leaders at the World Trade Organisation, where she is advocating for more inclusive and gender-responsive international trade policies.

She also sits on advisory boards for the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Future Forward Australia and Voices of Influence.

She previously represented 4.7 million young Australians on the Youthwise Advisory Board at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Britten is studying a Bachelor of Law and Arts at the University of Sydney and was named as an AFR (Australian Financial Review) Top 100 Future Leader in 2024.

She said she hopes the recognition would help to inspire a new generation of change-makers committed to education, equity, and global justice.

“This is not just recognition of what we’ve achieved – but instead a call to keep pushing for an Australia where every young person – no matter who they are or where they come from – can  realise their human right to access tertiary education.”