On Saturday 19 November 2022, the Massoud Foundation Australia celebrated the graduation of 15 Youth Ambassadors.
The Youth Ambassador Program run by Massoud Foundation Australia aimed to gather youth leaders from the Afghan community and upskill them in advocacy and change-making in order to bridge the multifaceted gap between Afghans residing in Australia and the wider Australian community and enable them to address Islamophobia and strengthen the social cohesion in NSW.
The program facilitated youth leaders with mediums of projects and school talks to implement their skills. The number of youth leaders in the program is 15, notwithstanding that there are other participants that have attended training sessions but did not commit to the entire program. Out of these attendees, 75% are female, 25% are male, and approximately 33% of the attendees are refugees – with good English skills – who have migrated from Afghanistan over the past 12 months.
The program was designed by Massoud Foundation Australia as the first leadership/advocacy skill-building program of its kind available for youth from Afghanistan living in NSW. The aim was to empower youth between the ages of 14-25, both male and female, inclusive of all ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs.
The program was used as a foundation for those youth seeking to further their development in the change-making and advocacy space, as well as provide an environment for those wanting to upskill themselves. The program was highly successful with its inclusion of recently arrived refugees from Afghanistan as part of the youth leaders. These participants have gone on to become MFA volunteers and have become part of the wider Afghan community.
We would like to congratulate and thank the NSW government, our trainers, volunteers, partners and youth ambassadors for making this program successful. A special thanks to The Hon. Mark Coure MP Minister for Multiculturalism and Minister for Seniors for issuing certificates of appreciation to our youth ambassadors on their graduation.
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