MYT Youth Advisory Group
The Youth Advisory Group brings together passionate young advocates to support positive change in the lives of refugee and migrant young people across Tasmania. The group is comprised of members from a diversity of faith, gender, age, linguistic, ethnicity, migration, life and educational experiences. MYT is a partner organisation of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network of Australia (MYAN).
MYT Youth Advisory Group participants:
Participate in quarterly meetings to inform the work of MYAN
Undertake leadership and advocacy training
Facilitate a state level advocacy activity per year
Contribute to statewide youth consultations to ensure the voice of multicultural young people is represented in youth policy and strategy in Tasmania.
Hello! My name is Ratu, I am a Malay Singaporean student living in Hobart. I have always been passionate about being an advocate for young people. As a young person myself, I strongly believe our voice matters, and it is important for it to be recognized in the society we live in today. My goal as an individual is to always offer any support I can to others and find solutions for issues affecting young people. I hope to work with other young people to create positive change and build a community of inclusion.

Ratu Yazidr
Advisory Group Member
Hello, my name is Arjane and I have been living in Hobart for over a year now. I am a Filipino, my parents are both Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and for 10 years I have lived with them, because of that I have been exposed to different cultures and systems. I have always been passionate about helping others, that’s why I aim to be a nurse in the future. As young people, I believe that we are the most influential people and that we are future leaders for the next generation, hence why I believe that it is our responsibility to make the world a better place and by doing that, I believe that educating ourselves and speaking up about contemporary issues is important to make people aware and push change in our society.

Arjane Villasin
Advisory Group Member
My name is Barsha. I migrated from Nepal to Australia, 11 years ago. I am 21 years old and about to complete my Bachelors of Psychological Science.I have always been enthusiastic about helping people in need, and contributing to make society a much happier and healthier place to live in. I understand that migration can have a significant impact on our mental and social health. Hence, I am very passionate about normalising talking about issues and challenges faced by migrants.As a young person residing in Hobart, I want to provide my support to migrants in any capacity that I can, and hope to create some positive changes in society.

Barsha Thapa
Advisory Group Member
My name is Mostafa, I am 18 years old and live in Launceston. I am interested in Human Rights and education. I think the top issues that young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds face are settlement and getting used to living in a new place. They need to learn how the system works, they may also be very lonely and make them feel anxious and depressed. English and education, learning which subjects and pathways to look at for their career is also another challenge for them. Besides, it is hard to find a job for young people with English as additional language. In the MYAN Tas Youth Advisory Group, I can bring up issues and we can try and work as a group to solve some of these. I like working with other Tasmanian youth from different backgrounds and coming together to share ideas. I have some experience in human rights and racism and I am interested in politics and would like to share ideas on this.

Mostafa Karimi
Advisory Group Member
Hello! I am Marie Fetalvero, a Filipina living in Hobart, Tasmania. I am currently a student at UTAS studying Business (majoring in finance) and Psychological Sciences. I have always been interested in pursuing psychology and have my own business someday as well. I have noticed that most young people are often quiet in certain issues even if it's affecting them. As a young woman, I always believed that young people should start using their voice, especially in a certain issue such as mental health that is prominent yet not recognised by other communities. As an individual, my goal is to support young people who are affected in certain issues and be their voice to raise awareness in issues affecting them, most especially in mental health.

Marie Fetalvero
Advisory Group Member
Hi! I’m Tayebeh and I came to Tasmania as a refugee, 7 years ago. I’m originally from Afghanistan, but I was born and raised in Iran. I’m currently living in Launceston and I am studying Mathematics, English, and Science at Launceston College. I have been an active friend of the local FM, at City Park Radio since 2017, where I lead a small group of Afghan girls host radio shows. This allows me to enjoy serving and doing the best for my community, but with MYT I am privileged to have the opportunity to discuss the issues that people from multicultural backgrounds face and make changes for the best of the future. I’m passionate to enhance the current education system by constructing and providing a special program to people from refugee and migrant background.

Tayebeh Karimi
Advisory Group Member
My name is Shaima Adinah and I am from Afghanistan. I came to Australia with my family as a refugee four years ago. I am currently living in Launceston and studying Bachelor of Nursing at University of Tasmania. I am somebody who gets immense satisfaction from helping people and working alongside others to achieve a common goal or task. This is the reason why I want to become a nurse in the future. In addition, I am interested in equitable access of youth from non- English-speaking backgrounds to equal education, employment, and healthcare services. They experience significant challenges in their education, finding the job, navigating and accessing healthcare services due to language barriers. The MYT Youth Advisory Group is where I can discuss and identify these issues with other young people and then take action to solve it.

Shaima Adinah
Advisory Group Member
My name is Brutukan Melkamu. I am Ethiopian/Kenyan. I live in-between cultures and we all do live in-between no matter which part of the world we are from. This is what makes us unique and strong as individuals/community. I am very passionate about multicultural issues and community development which lead me to choose my career goal as social work. I am currently studying Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sociology at the University of Tasmania. I am also very fortunate to be working for the Alcohol and Drug Foundation as a Project Administrator. The reason as to why I am very passionate about my job is because of the Organisation's mission to minimize and prevent harms caused by alcohol and other drugs in the community. Moreover, volunteering with organisations such as MRC Tas is another way of developing my skills to achieve my goals, to create a significant impact in the community, to inspire others and create a platform for other upcoming leaders, because leadership is a privilege for me to better lives for others.

Brutukan Melkamu
Advisory Group Member
Hello! My name is Ratu, I am a Malay Singaporean student living in Hobart. I have always been passionate about being an advocate for young people. As a young person myself, I strongly believe our voice matters, and it is important for it to be recognized in the society we live in today. My goal as an individual is to always offer any support I can to others and find solutions for issues affecting young people. I hope to work with other young people to create positive change and build a community of inclusion.

Ratu Yazidr
Advisory Group Member
Hi! I’m Tayebeh and I came to Tasmania as a refugee, 7 years ago. I’m originally from Afghanistan, but I was born and raised in Iran. I’m currently living in Launceston and I am studying Mathematics, English, and Science at Launceston College. I have been an active friend of the local FM, at City Park Radio since 2017, where I lead a small group of Afghan girls host radio shows. This allows me to enjoy serving and doing the best for my community, but with MYT I am privileged to have the opportunity to discuss the issues that people from multicultural backgrounds face and make changes for the best of the future. I’m passionate to enhance the current education system by constructing and providing a special program to people from refugee and migrant background.

Tayebeh Karimi
Advisory Group Member
My name is Brutukan Melkamu. I am Ethiopian/Kenyan. I live in-between cultures and we all do live in-between no matter which part of the world we are from. This is what makes us unique and strong as individuals/community. I am very passionate about multicultural issues and community development which lead me to choose my career goal as social work. I am currently studying Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sociology at the University of Tasmania. I am also very fortunate to be working for the Alcohol and Drug Foundation as a Project Administrator. The reason as to why I am very passionate about my job is because of the Organisation's mission to minimize and prevent harms caused by alcohol and other drugs in the community. Moreover, volunteering with organisations such as MRC Tas is another way of developing my skills to achieve my goals, to create a significant impact in the community, to inspire others and create a platform for other upcoming leaders, because leadership is a privilege for me to better lives for others.

Brutukan Melkamu
Advisory Group Member
Hi, My name is Krishna and I have moved to Australia from Nepal to search for better opportunities but life is not a bed of roses and this new land gave me a lot of things including both opportunities and hardships. I would like to share my experience with people from similar backgrounds and create a community of respect and this is why I am a part of YAG.

Krishna Tamang
Advisory Group Member
Hi! I’m Alia and I moved to Australia 12 years ago from my home-country of Pakistan. Despite having moved around a lot, Hobart has always felt like a second home to me. As a result, I have become deeply passionate about ensuring that others have the chance to feel the same. In my time with the Youth Advisory Group, I hope to empower my fellow multicultural youth to recognise that they matter. That despite our background, our responsibilities, and our hardships we have a duty to ourselves – that our wellbeing and happiness matters. In an age that is beginning to recognise the power of mental wellbeing, I want Tasmania’s multicultural youth to know that prejudiced norms and actions are not a reflection of them. That the struggles we face because of discriminatory attitudes are not our fault, and nor are we inherently flawed because of them. I want people to feel empowered by their background, struggles and perseverance.

Alia Haider
Advisory Group Member
My name is Shaima Adinah and I am from Afghanistan. I came to Australia with my family as a refugee four years ago. I am currently living in Launceston and studying Bachelor of Nursing at University of Tasmania. I am somebody who gets immense satisfaction from helping people and working alongside others to achieve a common goal or task. This is the reason why I want to become a nurse in the future. In addition, I am interested in equitable access of youth from non- English-speaking backgrounds to equal education, employment, and healthcare services. They experience significant challenges in their education, finding the job, navigating and accessing healthcare services due to language barriers. The MYT Youth Advisory Group is where I can discuss and identify these issues with other young people and then take action to solve it.

Shaima Adinah
Advisory Group Member
Hi, my name is Fatemeh, I am 19 years old and live in Hobart, Tasmania. I am a current student at UTAS studying Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and have always had a deep interest in health and wellbeing. I love to interact with members of other communities about the issues that Tasmanian youth may experience and work towards solving them, such as mental health, education, and finding a job. My goal is to support every young individual who is going through tough moments in any aspect of their life and to make changes for the future.
