Tourism Australia and BuzzFeed Australia are on the hunt for the next generation of visual storytellers from around the world to join the first ever BuzzFeed Mateship program, a once-in-lifetime fellowship and travel program that will see the Mates work, travel and capture content across Australia.

Eight young travellers and aspiring content creators from the UK, Germany, Italy and France will be flown to Australia for a three-month road trip to discover and report on some of the most unique, eye-opening and breathtaking experiences across the country for both Tourism Australia and BuzzFeed.com’s social channels.

Known as the BuzzFeed Mates, they will head off-the-beaten-track to discover some of Australia’s very best local culture, festivals, surf breaks, food and wine offerings.

They will be given a bespoke itinerary filled with things that appeal to the young traveller, like swinging on the world’s fastest Minjin jungle swing in Cairns, enjoying world-class music acts at one of Australia’s many summer festivals or discovering ancient watering holes in Kakadu National Park.

Throughout the program, the Mates will learn to create spectacular digital content and master social storytelling whilst being mentored by the BuzzFeed Australia editorial team and Tourism Australia.

Each Mate will be tasked with documenting their experiences and sharing them with the world on dedicated BuzzFeed social feeds.

John O’Sullivan, managing director at Tourism Australia, said: “As far as working holidays go, I think you’d have to go a long way to beat this. It’s the road trip to end all road trips.”

Simon Crerar, editor-in-chief and general manager at BuzzFeed Australia, said: “We’re excited to partner with Tourism Australia to give our audience around the world the opportunity to come and embed with the BuzzFeed Australia team, learn new creative skills and see the best of what this country has to offer.

“It’s truly the opportunity of a lifetime, and we can’t wait to see what the BuzzFeed Mates create.”

Speaking to B&T, Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson said BuzzFeed was a widely recognisable and reputable brand worldwide amongst young people.

“BuzzFeed has credibility with the target audience we want to reach with this youth campaign. And importantly, their approach is all about mobile-first, delivering content the way young people want and expect to receive it,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of media agency UM, IPG Mediabrands Australia CEO Danny Bass said: “We know how important it is for Australia’s economy to entice the world’s youth to visit and work in Australia. That’s why we’re proud and excited to have facilitated this global-first partnership between Tourism Australia and BuzzFeed.

“BuzzFeed are true experts in youth culture, and through the creation of this new mutually beneficial initiative and ongoing content program, we hope to attract more young people here than ever before.”

Entries for the Buzzfeed Mateship program are open to applicants from the UK, Germany, Italy and France. The entries are open from today until Friday 18 August to creative professionals and enthusiasts alike. Application details can be found here.

Tourism Australia’s partnership with BuzzFeed forms part of a new campaign set to launch in October, aimed at putting Australia back on the map as a memorable and desirable youth destination.

Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, said the youth segment represented a quarter of all international arrivals to Australia and 44 per cent of visitor spend.

“The Turnbull government recognises the importance of bringing more young people to Australia, both to travel and work, and that is why we have made improvements to the working holidaymaker program and committed $10 million to Tourism Australia for this campaign,” he said.

“These eight-lucky young travellers have a life-changing trip ahead of them and one which we believe will motivate many more young international travellers to follow in their footsteps.”