YOUTH REFERENCE GROUP (YRG)
The Youth Reference Group (YRG) for the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout is coordinated by MYAN and funded by the Department of Health to support the COVID-19 Vaccine Communication and Engagement Strategy for CALD Communities. This group will consist young people with 1-2 from each state/territory in Australia.
The YRG delivers targeted consultations and communications to support the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine amongst Australia’s culturally diverse communities.
YRG's aims
Provide you with the opportunity to have input into the strategic direction of COVID-19 vaccine campaigns and strategies and Support MYAN to lead the project nationally and locally.
Allow a pathway for the voice of young people to be heard and acted upon.
Provide opportunities for skills and leadership development.
Allow young people to direct vaccine related information and messaging.
Meet our YRG Members
Rasa Islam
Rasa Islam is a proud Bangladeshi-Australian and currently completing her PhD in translational medical research in cancer immunotherapy. She is passionate about empowering and amplifying diverse voices in the Australian policy-making landscape, particularly in the area of health consumerism. She has been part of the Youth Advocacy Network with MYAN in the past and continue to work with MYAN in different capacities, but recently have also been extensively involved with Consumer Health Forum (CHF). Apart from the COVID-19 vaccine communication YRG position, she is a community conversation host and steering committee member for Preventive Health strategy with CHF.
Jahin Tanvir
Jahin Tanvir is an award-winning keynote and three-time TEDx speaker, board director, and multicultural youth advocate. At 21-years-old, Jahin is the Founder & CEO of Breathe., an EdTech social enterprise providing public speaking education to young people, and marginalised communities around Australia. Breathe. has impacted over 16,000 individuals from diverse communities since its inception in 2022.
Grace Edward (QLD)
Grace Edward (She/They) is the YCDC co-founder and chair. Grace initially became involved with MYAN as a 2016 FUSE Summit Delegate, and later became the QLD Youth Ambassador (YAN) Representative in 2018. Grace is currently working on the second iteration of the Linking Generations project and with Refugee Health Network Queensland, as the Partnerships and Community Engagement Coordinator for the CALD COVID-19 Health Engagement Project (CCHEP).
Grace is also a Meanjin (Brisbane) based Playwright, Director, and Creative Producer from Yei, South Sudan. Grace fell in love with the power of storytelling as a child and was able to nurture that raw passion into a craft through the years. Through her Bachelor of arts in Contemporary and Applied Theatre, Grace was able to find a medium of storytelling that made space for community advocacy and development; a tool to understand one another better.As a storyteller, Grace Explores different aspects of what it means to be a third-culture child and a person of colour, living on stolen land. Grace has Co-written, produced, and directed four theatre productions in Brisbane with The Big Reach project (2022) being the most recent piece of work.
Krushnadevsinh (Kano)
Krushnadevsinh (Kano) is a Youth and Multiculturalism Advocate, who empowers young people and those from multicultural backgrounds to find their voice and have confidence to be themselves. Kano is actively engaged in the community and regularly advises policy making to ensure it is culturally appropriate, and inclusive of all young people’s needs. He hopes to share his lived experience to encourage others to join him in creating a more diverse and inclusive world.
Sanjay Sharma
Sanjay Sharma, from Nepal, is a Social Worker/ Community organiser experienced in organising, design, and facilitate programs through processes underpinned by rigorous contextual of analysis and research. He has worked across a range of contexts including Inclusive Education, Youth Participation, International Student, Travel Concession and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities.
He is passionate about program design and organizations that are underpinned by high-quality delivery. He is adept at engaging, influencing, collaborating with a diversity of stakeholders, and working in complex cross-cultural environments.
Minh Han
Minh Han is passionate about volunteering and healthcare. Her hobbies are travelling and playing music. She has been to 15+ countries and would love to travel more in the near future. She is a Vietnamese and love to cook Vietnamese food. She enjoys volunteering with MYAN as she finds it meaningful and it helps the community and makes a difference. She currently works 3 jobs and each job has taught her something valuable.
Fatima Tlaa
Fatima Tlaa is a very confident person and wants to instill confidence in other young people as well through the events and programs at MYAN. She also wants to bring her facilitation skills and public speaking skills gained through my previous role as a UN Youth Facilitator and in the AMRC’s (Australian Migrant Resource Centre) Youth Leadership program as a YAN representative. She also wants to share the issues that need to be heard in the “mainstream” society and work on actions to resolving them.
Kameleshwaran Caroopanenh (Ish)
Kameleshwaran Caroopanen (Ish) migrated to Australia to pursue his further education from Mauritius. He graduated with a Bachelor in Engineering and has since worked in various industries and regions of Australia. In an endeavour to use his experience as a young migrant in Australia for positive social change, Ish has engaged with non-for-profits, oversaw projects as a facilitator with YACWA, and led multiple projects through Curtin Volunteers. He is ardent about advocating for international students and participating in climate policy advocacy.
Camilea Zielger
Camilea Zielger, During her time studying a Bachelor of Laws at Bond University on the Gold Coast, she has been a leader in her community. She has motivated and empowered students through various projects. Passionate about inclusion and wellbeing, Cami served as the Special Interests Director in the Law Students’ Wellness Network where she endeavoured to promote balance and self-care among the student community. In recognising the need for engagement and support, Cami was a student mentor for international students with Limitless Learning. Cami has additionally been a Gold Coast Student Advisory Board member, volunteering for a number of mental health organisations and community legal centres. Her recent community involvement centres around women’s empowerment and climate action.
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LewChing Yip
LewChing Yip (she/her), LC for short is on Ngunnawal country. She grew up in Singapore and came to Australia in 2017. She is a Mental Health Peer Worker and Residential Youth Worker. She joined MYAN as a YRG member because she wants to amplify the needs of the community.
Maggie
Maggie is passionate in making a difference for young people in our community through excellence and creativity. She has a keen interest in women’s leadership and youth empowerment. As part of the younger generation, she values youth voices and am motivated in sustaining youth engagement for positive change. The global pandemic has impacted young people in many ways such as social isolation and education interruption. She is excited in joining YRG to engage and support young people from a multicultural background as we transit to the co-Covid era.