“Don’t be afraid to take risks, and to speak up. You never know where an opportunity might lead you” – Joseph Kolapudi

As part of our work in establishing our MYAN Young People Alumni Network, we have reconnected with Joseph who was active within the MYAN network between 2018 and 2020.

Based in Brisbane, Joseph first got involved with MYAN after returning from the United States where he was studying International Development. He felt like the opportunities to get involved in advocacy at that time were limited but saw a lot of potential to get involved at MYAN’s Queensland partner organisation Multicultural Youth Queensland, (also known as MyQ).
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As part of the Youth Advisory Group at MyQ, Joseph saw MyQ’s influence in the youth advocacy space grow exponentially. He speaks fondly of his time at MyQ, including the planning and organisation process of the Youth Matters Forum in 2019 in which he played a key role in naming!

The forum provided a platform for multicultural young people, aged between 15-30 years to meet with stakeholders from the greater Brisbane area to share their knowledge, ideas and insights about issues facing them and their peers.

Joseph is now Creative Director at SolveSquad, a social enterprise which aims to address social challenges facing disengaged youth by creating online and in-person opportunities. He speaks passionately of how this organisation fosters digital opportunities for youth leadership through virtual internships and partnerships, and how they are looking forward to having further grassroots community engagement coming out of the pandemic.

When asked how he would describe his experience in youth leadership, he says “Catalysing change – the experience was rich in unique perspective and stories, I learnt a lot from other young people and felt empowered and confident to take up opportunities”

If you have been involved with MYAN or our partner agencies in the past and would like to join our growing Alumni Network please fill out this EOI form.