FECCA 2017 - Youth Day
Through the past few months, MyNT have been working together with MCNT and FECCA in organising and promoting the the first ever FECCA Youth Day – Celebrate. Reflect. Advance: Our Multicultural Australia.
In October 2017, the FECCA Conference was held in Darwin, with the first day being dedicated to young people.
The Youth Day included speakers such as Jenevieve Chang, who talked about her journey of finding her culture and provided tips on sharing their own journeys through creative writing, using her own biography ‘The Good Girl of Chinatown’ as inspiration.
Dor Akech Achiek from Settlement Services International introduced us to two extraordinary young people, Rooan Al Kalmashi and Bassam Maliki. Rooan comes from a refugee background who uses her experience to advocate for refugee rights and encourages young people to become active citizens, meanwhile Bassam started an initiative for homeless children and young people called #YouBelong.
Peter Doukas, Chair of ECCNSW, along with SBS youth mentees, Fern Mei Sim and Sheena Meha, spoke about the lack of representation in the media landscape.
MyNT is proud to have also held a panel on youth leadership. 2012-14 MyNT Chair and The RACE Darwin project leader, Alpha Capaque, spoke about the importance of taking a step back and allowing young people to speak. Current Executive officer, Kyaw Naing John Yusuf, shared his story about how education allowed him to be empowered in Australia despite coming into the country as a refugee with no english. Meanwhile, Pritika Desai, ShoutOut: Youth Mental Health project leader, shared her story about living with mental health issues and using her experience to lead change.
Kashif Bouns, General Manager of the Western Bulldogs, and Alipate Carlile, former Port Adelaide Football Club player shared their experience of multicultural participation and representation in sports.
Lastly, the Honourable Lauren Moss MLA talked about her journey as a youth leader to becoming a Minister for the NT Government.
As Chair of MyNT, I was also interviewed by SBS during the Youth Day, you can hear it on here.
The FECCA Youth Day was a success and we are grateful for FECCA, MCNT, SBS and all the other supporters and sponsors for allowing young people to have their voices heard through the event.
For more information on the other speakers, visit #FECCA2017 in Twitter to see all the posts.
