It is my pleasure to announce the inaugural winners of the Commonwealth Youth Leadership Awards for 2003.
The Commonwealth Youth Leadership Awards are part of Youth for the Future, the Commonwealth of Nations initiative I announced at last year';s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Youth for the Future nurtures the skills and enthusiasm of young people in Commonwealth countries by offering programs in enterprise development, volunteering, mentoring and leadership.
The awards offer opportunities to young postgraduate students from eligible Asian and Pacific Commonwealth countries to prepare for leadership roles in their home country.
The six winners, who are studying in Australia on Australian Development Scholarships, will take part in a twelve day leadership and governance course at the National Centre for Development Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. The course explores the key elements of leadership and management roles within public sector organisations and identifies the characteristics of effective leaders.
The 2003 Commonwealth Youth Leadership Awardees are:
Sajid Ali from Pakistan who is undertaking a Master of Education at Monash University Josua Namoce from Fiji who is undertaking a Master of Communication at Swinburne University of Technology Petra Suhren from Samoa who is undertaking a Master of Financial Management at the University of Queensland Taniela Faletau from Tonga who is undertaking a Graduate Diploma in Environment Studies at the University of Newcastle Sheikh Mohammod Rafiqul Hasan from Bangladesh who is undertaking a Master of Geographical Information Sciences at University of Queensland Daisy Viola Raburabu from Papua New Guinea who is undertaking a Master of Education at James Cook University
Australian Development Scholarships give students from developing countries the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills and enable them to make a positive contribution to their country when they return home. There are currently about 3000 students studying in Australia on these scholarships.