National Youth Panel on COVID-19: exploring the new normal

UPDATE: Due to the high demand and limited capacity for the event we will be doing a live stream of the event on our Facebok page in case spots run out.

We will only be able to respond to questions during the event from participants in the Zoom link though.

Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN) is hosting a youth panel led by young people from across Australia from refugee and migrant backgrounds, exploring the new normal during and beyond COVID-19.

This is an important opportunity to hear directly from young people themselves about the challenges and solutions to COVID-19 in a discussion focused on Education, Employment and Mental Health.

This will be an interactive event with ample opportunity for Q&A with the panellists.

Date and time:

Tuesday 21 July 11.00 AM - 12.45 PM AEST

Webinar link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87232277582?pwd=RFVHMDJJZW50NkVxWEdhSXNuaDZ2UT09

The password for the webinar will be provided after you RSVP

Youth Panel:

Swathi Shanmukhasundaram

Swathi is MYAN’s Youth Ambassador for VIC, Project Support Officer in Youth Leadership at Centre for Multicultural Youth, a community worker, lawyer and advocate. She's also an Indian-born migrant and proud Tamil woman living in Naarm (Melbourne). With a myriad of skills and lived experiences in mental health, Swathi loves finding ways to craft projects where community and identity are at the heart of everything. She leads an initiative called The Vermilion Project, where she fuses her love for law, advocacy and community to promote the economic and social participation of people affected by menstrual health conditions and invisible illnesses. Swathi is also a WEF Global Shaper, Democracy in Colour Create Change Fellow and a 2019 FYA Young Social Pioneer. You can find her work @thevermilionproject on socials and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Harpreet Dhillon

Harpreet loves building a safer, sustainable, secure, and inclusive world with the initiatives and spaces she is a part of. Harpreet is driven by her ancestors, her people, and by her younger self who didn't have anyone to stand up for her but herself. Harpreet is involved in gender, racial and climate justice advocacy in roles including as a youth ambassador for MYAN NSW, Treasurer of the Board of Directors and Australia's Representative for the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, GetUp Climate Justice Fellow and Founder of her own initiative called Breaking The Taboos. Harpreet is also a street medic and community organiser at protests and rallies.

Butrus Haider

Butrus is a South Sudanese Australian who works as a Diversity & Inclusion Offices at Football Queensland and is currently studying psychology. He is a member of the Multicultural Youth Queensland council and the Queensland South Sudanese Youth Council.

Butrus is very passionate about serving and working with people from all parts of the world, especially with young people. Butrus wants to become a mentor that young people can look up to and can reach for support in times of need. He also wants to motivate and encourage young people to work hard and strive for their goals. Butrus uses his voice to advocate for the voices of other young people, especially those from refugee and migrant backgrounds, so that their concerns are heard. He also shares his stories and experience of living in Australia to open up dialogue on racial inequality and discrimination issues in hope of making a change in the world we live in.

Zahra Al Hilaly

Zahra is MYAN’s Youth Ambassador for WA, a Law and Journalism student, hoping to work in the human rights and refugee field. After watching her parents struggle with the repercussions of their journeys settling into Australia, she is adamant in working to ensure that immigrants and refugees are given the same opportunities as everyone else to exponentially grow. Zahra is part of the Global Youth Task Force with United Nations Women, where she represents Australia in the fight for gender equality across the globe. She also works with the Youth Affairs Council of WA and MYAN NSW as a Shout Out Speaker and as a youth consultant, delivering training to young leaders from refugee and migrant backgrounds to help them develop leadership skills.

Mehak Sheikh

Mehak is the Youth Leadership Officer at MYAN and will be moderating the event. Mehak is driven by her passion to ensure young people and those from marginalized communities have access to spaces and places where their voices are heard and concerns are addressed. When not at MYAN, Mehak is in the social entrepreneurship/innovation world, or having conversations about identity and cheerleading the Western suburbs of Melbourne.

We look forward to connecting with you soon.

myan.org.au