Members of the 2008-09 Youth Engagement Steering Committee
Tim Goodwin
Tim, aged 24, is a member of the Yuin nation, an Aboriginal nation that occupies the south east coast of NSW. Tim graduated with Bachelor Degrees in Arts and Law with Honours from the Australian National University in 2007. Tim is currently working as an Associate to Justice Anthony North of the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne.
Tim serves on the Board of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and the Editorial Board of the Australian Indigenous Law Review.
Tim has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by the National Indigenous Youth Movement of Australia (NIYMA), of which he is currently Deputy Chair.
The National Indigenous Youth Movement of Australia (NIYMA) is a not-for-profit organisation founded and run by Indigenous young people that envisages healthy, strong and free Indigenous communities.
Sophie Weldon
Sophie,
aged 19, is currently enrolled in the newly created Foundation
Diploma at the Australian, Film, Television and Radio School and
will take up her deferred position at Sydney University to do a
Bachelor of International and Global Studies in 2010.
In 2005, Sophie was appointed a Special Youth Representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Australia for UNHCR), one of only two in the world.
In 2006, Sophie won the only scholarship for Australia to study at the prestigious Atlantic College in Wales, UK, for which Nelson Mandela is the honorary president. The college brings students from over 75 different countries to live and learn together and to challenge themselves and their world.
In a recent visit to the UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Sophie presented her paper calling for the establishment of a youth organisation within the UNHCR. She was the first young person to be given permission by this global organisation to start a pilot youth program. Youth for UNHCR will aim to provide young people with the opportunity to engage with the work of the UN refugee Agency and the plight of refugees worldwide.
Sophie has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by Vibewire, of which she is an Ambassador.
Vibewire Youth Services is a non-profit, volunteer-based youth organisation, dedicated to providing increased opportunities for Australia's youth to express themselves, communicate and create relationships with one-another, access relevant information and services and play a more visible role in presenting and defining their (sub) culture. Across the media spectrum, Vibewire creates platforms for young people to address issues they are passionate about, while at the same time assists them to build their skills and talents in a supportive and creative environment.
Kerrina Tamiano
Kerrina, aged 19, was born in Traralgon, Victoria where she lived
until her family relocated to Darwin, Northern Territory in 2000. Kerrina’s
cultural background is Aboriginal and Samoan, as well as Dutch and
Rotuman.
Kerrina finished her Year 12 Certificate at Palmerston High School and is currently working as a Youth Worker for the Danila Dilba Youth Service. She has a keen interest in youth issues, law and social justice.
Ben Easton
Ben Easton, aged 17, is currently attending Year 12 Swan Hill College.
Ben has been a volunteer with Lead On for the past four years, an organisation that deals with youth matters within his community and organises events for local youth.
Ben is also a member of the Swan Hill Youth Council, and the Blue Light Committee that works with local police to organise underage discos, movie nights and pool parties for local young people.
Alana Smith
Alana, aged 23, recently completed an Arts/Law degree at Monash University in Melbourne. She is currently completing a traineeship with Clothier Anderson and Associates Immigration law firm.
Alana is passionate about being active on issues of social justice
and she firmly believes in the power and potential that each
individual has to bring about positive change in the world.
Alana has recently finished an internship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland.
Alana has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by Vision Generation (VGen), World Vision’s youth movement, of which she is National Director.
VGen is made up of a group of passionate young people, who campaign and speak out for those who can’t. Their mission is 'Inspire, Educate and Empower, Young People In The Fight Against Global Poverty And Injustice'.
They work on local, state and national levels to fundraise, raise public awareness and lobby politicians so that they can enact large scale change on world poverty and its underlying causes.
Luke Bo’sher
Luke, aged 22, is involved with organisations such as Vibewire
Inc, the Inspire Foundation, BeyondBlue, the Foundation for Young
Australians and the Youth Council of Victoria. He is an advocate on
youth issues, previously working as a Policy Officer for the Youth
Coalition of the ACT.
Luke has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, of which he is currently Chair. Luke is an ex-officio member on the AYF Steering Committee.
The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is Australia's non-government youth affairs peak body. Officially launched at its first Annual General Meeting on 16 May 2002, AYAC's formation is the result of several years of work by state and territory youth affairs peaks and a number of national youth sector organisations, following the wind-up of the previous peak body AYPAC in 1999.
Rachel Farley
Rachel, aged 18, lives in
Braidwood with her family who run a small beef cattle farm. Rachel was part of the National Aspiring Leaders Summit in April 2008 and is also volunteering with the Red Cross, She hopes
to inform many young people about the valuable contribution they can make to their communities. Rachel has recently been sponsored by several youth organisations including Apex & Lions to
study in France over summer. She hopes to be able to bring her new cultural knowledge and communication skills to the table in future debates.
Rachel is currently studying her HSC & hopes to undertake a Bachelor of International Studies next year at the University of Wollongong. She is interested in French, Law & social justice. contribution they can make to other people’s lives.
As part of the Youth Forum, Rachel hopes to be able to bring some perspective of the difficulties facing rural young people.
Angus McFarland
Angus, aged 23, is studying in Arts/Law, majoring in Political
Science. He has extensive experience representing university
students in the community. In 2006 Angus was elected as a Board
Director of the University of Sydney Union. In 2007 Angus was
the President of the University of Sydney Students’ Representative
Council and, along with his studies, he is currently the
undergraduate student representative on the University of Sydney
Senate (Board of Directors).
Angus has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by the National Union of Students (NUS), of which he was National President in 2008 and is currently the Immediate Past President.
The National Union of Students represents over 600 000 university students across Australia. Founded in 1988, it has a proud tradition of effective representation of the concerns of students to government, the media and the wider community. NUS advocates for an accessible and quality higher education system in Australia and a supportive student experience for all students while at university.
Tom O’Connor
Tom O’Connor, aged 22, is a full-time student, studying Law, Politics and Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. Tom is a passionate and dedicated leader who’s achievements include running the Zero Seven Roadtrip, representing Australia at the 2005 International Model United Nations in the Netherlands, being named Young Victorian of the Year in 2007, being selected to attend the Australia 2020 Summit in 2008 and recently co-editing the book, The Future By Us.
Tom has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by the Oaktree Foundation, of which he has been a senior leader for the past two and a half years.
The Oaktree Foundation is an entirely youth-run international aid and development organisation. Founded in 2003 by Hugh Evans and Nicolas Mackay in Melbourne, Oaktree is about the potential for young people to work in partnership to reduce poverty and to empower developing communities through education in a way that is sustainable.
Oaktree has a vision of equal educational opportunity for all young people across the world, as they believe that education is a key to breaking the poverty cycle. Oaktree believes that educated, empowered and motivated communities are better able to change their future.
Khadija Gbla
Khadija Gbla, aged 18, is a representative within the African
community that utilises her voice to advocate for equality and
acceptance of all cultures and religious freedoms. Khadija is
a member of the South Australian Government Minister’s Youth Council
and provides a multicultural perspective of current and emerging
youth issues and concerns. Additionally, Khadija is a member
and secretary of the Charles Sturt Youth Advisory Committee and
Chair of the Charles Sturt Mental Health Sub-committee. She is
also the youth leader for the Sierra Leone community on the Migrant
Resource Centre’s Reference Group.
As a passionate youth advocator, in 2006 Khadija became a peer educator for Shine SA who specialise in sexual health, education, advocacy and support. Khadija also volunteers for the Migrant Resource Centre’s Young Women’s Group, the South Australian Council of Social Services and Multicultural Youth South Australia Inc.
In 2006, Khadija’s outstanding involvement and contribution to the South Australian community was acknowledged by a student citizenship award from the Order of Australia Association, Young Citizen of the Year, Multicultural Ambassador, as well as being a finalist in the Channel Nine Young Achievers Award.
Alice Bleby
Alice Bleby,
aged 20, is the National President of the United Nations Youth
Association of Australia (UNYA and a fourth year Arts/Law student,
studying Arabic, International Studies and French. She has been
actively involved with young people's advocacy for a number of
years, working extensively with UNYA, the Australian Youth Climate
Coalition, and a diverse range of young people and youth-led
organisations.
Alice has been nominated for the AYF Steering Committee by UNYA.
UNYA Australia is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit youth organisation run entirely for and by young people aged 15‑25. UNYA has divisions in every state and territory of Australia, and a National Executive oversees the organisation and its aims: to educate and empower young people through engaging with principles and aspirations of the United Nations.
