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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-10-17 Daily Xml
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Youth Symposium

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:42): I am delighted to rise to speak about the Youth Symposium which took place at the Adelaide Festival Centre on Friday 21 October 2018. The Youth Symposium is a wonderful youth leadership program. Special thanks to Eugenia Tsoulis OAM, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Migrant Resource Centre, and Helen Connolly, South Australia's Commissioner for Children and Young People, for their leadership and foresight in working together to co-host the meaningful Youth Symposium: Leading for our Future program.

It was a great honour to represent the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Steven Marshall, to officially launch the Youth Symposium and acknowledge the great work by the AMRC and the Commissioner for Children and Young People. The hardworking AMRC team did an amazing job in encouraging more than 300 young people and stakeholders to attend the symposium.

I would like to acknowledge the working group for the symposium, which included Cynthia Caird, Keith Preston, Alma Ramcilovic and Matti Spellacy, as well as Yasin Hassanyar, Chairperson of Multicultural Youth Link SA. Heartfelt congratulations to Eugenia, Helen and the team for delivering a highly inspiring and engaging symposium. I would also like to thank Major Sumner AM, Ngarrindjeri elder and world-renowned artist and cultural ambassador, for his wonderful welcome to country at the symposium. There were many exceptional speakers at the symposium, and it gives me much pleasure to highlight in parliament today two young leaders with refugee backgrounds.

The first keynote speaker I would like to highlight is a remarkable and articulate young man called Denis Yengi. Denis and his family were forced to flee the civil war in South Sudan when he was seven years old. After crossing the border into northern Uganda on foot, Denis and his family spent 13 years in a UN refugee camp. He arrived in Adelaide and completed year 12 with an award for outstanding achievement in education. He then completed his degree at Flinders University.

Here is a young man who has proven to the world that he can emerge from severe hardship as a refugee to become a qualified CPA through hard work and changing people's perception about refugee youth. Denis is currently a financial consultant with the Department of Primary Industries and Regions. What a great achievement for a young man. Denis delivered a heart-moving speech at the symposium that demonstrated his determination to overcome obstacles and his intellectual capacity to grow and become an influential young leader. Denis certainly made a great impression as the first keynote speaker.

When it was time to welcome the second keynote speaker at the Youth Symposium, the most fitting term to describe Private Kbora Ali is that she is a 'pocket rocket'. When she was introduced as an Army officer from the Australian Defence Force, she caught many by surprise. I will take this opportunity to describe Kbora Ali. She is petite, a beautiful young lady about three to four inches shorter than myself, yet she has the strength of a dragon.

Kbora arrived in Australia in 2007 as a refugee. She was nine years old at the time. Her family spent three years in a refugee camp in Pakistan after fleeing Afghanistan. Despite speaking no English when she arrived in Australia, Kbora excelled academically, receiving an ATAR of 97. Following high school, she received a job offer in real estate, a placement at Flinders University or an offer to join the Army.

Who would have guessed that she has taken the path less travelled, particularly for a young lady who is physically quite petite and also very fashionable. Kbora decided to join the Army and became the first Afghan-Australian woman to do so. She completed intense soldier training in 2016 and became a proud member of the Australian Defence Force. In 2017, Kbora was awarded the Multicultural Youth SA Spirit of Resilience Award as part of Channel 9's Young Achiever Awards.

Private Kbora Ali reminded me of those charming young women from the Charlie's Angels movie. She is definitely a pocket rocket, smart, strong, beautiful and did I mention that she is also an international martial arts competitor? Yes, she was a very dynamic and inspiring keynote speaker who nobody will forget in a hurry. On the day, her words, 'I am Private Kbora Ali, at your service,' echoed through the Youth Symposium. Congratulations to all involved at the Youth Symposium.

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