The MWA Youth Advisory Committee (MYAC) is made up of a group of inspirational young Australian Muslim women from a variety of cultural backgrounds, ages, and experiences.
Insights into some of the MYAC Members
Name: Aisha, 14
Background:
- Community Involvement- Children’s Parliament (sharing our voice with the council and making a difference).
- Hobbies- Baking, sports, and creative arts.
Experiences- Visiting Parliament House (Canberra), Speaking with the Mayor. - Schooling- History (favourite subject).
- Achievements- Speaking beyond my comfort zone.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I would love to see what I can do without the support of my school, being independent. I also love working with others and sharing my ideas.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
Confidence, Communication skills and Supportive advice.
Name: Fatima, 16
Background:
- Enjoy Baking and reading
- Favourite subject- Science
- Homeschooled
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
- To provide other youth with opportunities
- To take part in the opportunities
- To have meaningful conversations with like minded people
- To bring my ideas/thoughts to life
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
- Passion
- Considerate/thoughtful
- Advocacy
- Teamwork
- Perspectives
- Leadership
Name: Khadijah, 14
Goals : Make a positive impact on other young women and children
Hobbies and passions : Reading & Baking/cooking
Community involvement /achievements
- Part of Canterbury Bankstown Youth Crew
- Jason Clare’s community service award 2018
- Canterbury Bankstown youth-award for inspiration
- Canterbury Bankstown youth-award for leadership
- 1st place multicultural perspectives public speaking competition
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
To be able to express people’s thoughts and feelings , To have meaningful and important conversations
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
Good with community involvement , Teamwork , Advocacy and Communication skills
Name: Khadijah, 17
Background
- Goals: to be part of a youth committee, to be able to finish my university degree
- Hobby: cooking
- Schooling: favourite subject is English
- Passion: understanding more about the youth in our community
- Community involvement: creating packages for families who have escaped domestic violence
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I am interested in being a part of MYAC as it allows us as young muslim women to have a voice for those who may not have a voice. To meet other muslim women. To do something for the community. To have meaningful conversations – opportunity to share things in a safe space. Bring ideas to paper.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
- Creativity
- Passion
- Bringing the experiences from Muslim hijabi women
- Communication skills (able to articulate words)
- Creative skills
- Leadership skills
- Advocacy work
- Honest
- Courageous
- Seeing others perspective
- Articulating ideas into one
Name: Lara, 15
Background:
I am starting to finish year 10 and hoping to finish all the years coming up as well. I have a few fallbacks for what I want for my future. Maybe a career in criminal psychology, or professional art, or even a career in creative writing. I love to read and write creative stories. Even poems and plays are my thing too. I also love to illustrate animated characters and (sometimes) create real life portraits. I also love to game. Not to brag but, I am awesome at Mario Kart 😊.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I would love to join to make a difference, and I know that everyone says that, but I have a passion for really helping people and guiding them through what’s most important to them, and I hope that I get to learn some things as well. I love to learn and the last thing I want is to be a part of a community and not getting anything out of it.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
I hope to bring my communication skills and my representation (a representation for young Muslims and girls). I also hope that I can share some experience with the other members as well, to create relatability and comfort for the people around me.
Name: Nasreen, 21
Background:
- Aim to complete Bachelor of Accounting and begin related work in 2022
- Passionate about the growth, empowerment and betterment of young Muslim females.
- I hope to achieve a balance of success, contentment and happiness through my studies, future career and implementation of my faith.
- Enjoy spending my free time with family and friends.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I am interested in being a part of MYAC because I want to take my ideas one step further and I think MYAC can do that for me. Putting my ideas down on paper and being able to bring them to action is something I can’t do alone while MYAC has provided me with the people and the means to make a difference.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
As a member of MYAC, I will be able to represent young Muslim females like me, advocating on their behalf and bringing my personal experiences to the table, encouraging authentic and sincere leadership.
Name: Rukayah , 14
Background:
- My favourite subject is PASS (physics activity and sports studies)
- I am a very sport and active person
- My favourite sport is soccer and I enjoy playing it very much
- I also enjoy a large range of sports including swimming, basketball and much much more
- I was school captain in year 6
- I have represented my school in public speaking competitions
- I have been a part of a youth summit in year 6 and represented my school. We were finalists and won
- Nursing home visits in primary school
- Volunteering at a special needs school
- Parliamentarians award in year 6
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
- To provide other youth with opportunities.
- To Give a voice to those who don’t have a voice.
- To take part in opportunities.
- To have meaningful conversations.
- To bring my ideas to life.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
- Good ideas
- Teamwork
- Communication skills
- Creativity
- Leadership
- Seeing other people’s perspective
Name: Sydra, 12
Background:
- My favourite subject is art
- My hobbies are playing sports, watching and playing playstation
- My goal is to be a better Muslim
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
Because it’s really fun, inspiring and I like to meet new people.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
Communication and other skills!
Name: Saja, 25
Background:
- Passionate about inclusion and community growth and development
- Completed my Bachelor of Social Work degree in 2018
- Enjoy spending my free time going on adventures and road trips with family and friends.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I hope that in participating in the Youth Advisory Committee, I am able to share the concerns of my peers but also work alongside them for best practice to support community growth and strengthen community ties in an authentic way.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
I hope to have meaningful conversations around the importance of youth inclusivity and work alongside members to improve outcomes for young people of CALD backgrounds through advocacy, experience and representation.
Name: Nur Ayra, 16
Background:
- Aiming to be a marine biologist/zoologist; the dream is to work in marine conservation in Queensland or Australia Zoo
- Sports; volleyball, basketball, ultimate frisbee, creative/dance skipping, horse riding
- Writing stories/poems/songs/raps
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I believe that I can help others the way that others have always helped me and I want to support other Muslim girls to be more confident with who they are.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
Communication skills and sharing my experiences
Name: Isra, 15
Background:
- Start working soon and gain experience
- Complete school and further my studies
- I enjoy spending time with the people I love like my family and friends.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
I am interested because I want my voice to be heard and to be a part of something I feel will be beneficial.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
I will be able to help young women like me because we share similar experiences, and their voices will be heard through my advocacy.
Name: Bessima, 12
Background
My favourite subject is PDHPE as I really enjoy playing sport and as my hobby, I like to also play video games.
Why are you interested in being a part of MYAC?
All the new things I can learn and all the fun I can have and meeting new people.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
I will bring my dancing skills, communication skills and my video game skills.
Name: Nour, 13
Background
My goal is to communicate more with my MYAC members and cooperate with ideas.
I am passionate about helping people and MYAC is full of females who love to help others.
I want to achieve learning more with the other girls and ask questions where I won’t be uncomfortable or too shy to say them.
What will you be bringing to this Committee?
I am interested in communicating with other females whether they’re close to my age or a really big age gap, I still think it is necessary to communicate with them so all of our ideas can come true by putting them on a paper and working together to make it true.
As members of MYAC, we are collectively working on identifying issues that we can then address for the betterment of the community, while simultaneously working on our own individual, self-development journey.
