Multiple screens feed into a YouTube live stream. The broadcast focuses on a teenage boy as he prepares to deliver a mock presidential address.

Although he can’t see them, the eyes of kids around the world are on him; each one of them finding new ways to connect during the Covid-19 lockdowns – and sharing their encouragement over a chatlog.

“I stand before you today as the leader of this great country,” begins 14-year-old Yuwaalaraay teenager Dean Touma, as he shares his vision of increased education funding, reduced homelessness and stronger respect for ancient Australian cultures.

Touma is one of 8,000 high school students currently enrolled in Aime, a mentoring program built on encouraging the dreams and ambitions of marginalised kids.

“Aime gave me a chance to speak; it gave me a voice and helped me realise how to be myself and how to be proud as an Indigenous woman,” says fellow mentee, 15-year-old Lucy Brown.

“It’s really freeing knowing that you’re not alone and there’s so much support when you open up to people,” she continues, reflecting on her last three years in the program.

Aime, which normally runs as a series of face-to-face workshops, has recently been transformed into a weekday, lunchtime television show named Imagi-Nation TV.

The show, which takes place over 30 minutes through YouTube live broadcast, gives kids the chance to showcase the skills they’ve learnt through the physical program, and practise them for their peers.

“We want to unlock kids’ imagination capacity so they can start working on their own self-authorship and their own story,” says the Aime CEO and co-founder, Jack Manning Bancroft.

“We want to help them … rewire their mindsets from a world that tells them they can’t to a world that tells them they can.”

Each week, Imagi-Nation TV introduces a new theme, ranging from Forgiveness (13 April) to Empathy (20 April) and Asking Questions (8 June), with the opportunity for kids in the program to address the live audience in a segment titled Youngsters.

The program also invites guest speakers, who have so far included the film-maker Taika Waititi, musician Ben Lee, journalist Stan Grant, puppeteer Randy Feltface and influential creative director Margaret Zhang on to the show to share their own lessons, and features musical interludes and the occasional puppet.

“Once we saw that there was set to be a billion kids’ educations affected by Covid-19 [around the world], we knew that we could play a role as a mentor in these kids’ lives,” says Manning Bancroft. “Not just through this moment but well into the future.”

Imagi-Nation TV streams Monday to Friday 12pm AEST on YouTube.