21 September 2011

Minister for Youth Peter Garrett today announced the successful delegates, who come from every state and territory in the country, including one delegate from the Cocos Islands.

The forum will run from October 23-27 and is an important event leading up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Perth from 28 to 30 October 2011.

“These remarkable young people from across the country had been selected to provide youth-related recommendations to Heads of Government,” Mr Garrett said.

“Their broad range of experiences, background and expertise reflect the diversity of Australian communities. Our delegates have backgrounds in healthcare, indigenous advocacy, human rights, the media, politics, business, urban planning and education, among many other fields.

“They will join up to 100 other young people from across the Commonwealth nations to learn about the Commonwealth, debate issues to be put forward to world leaders at CHOGM and benefit from skills-building sessions during the forum.

“This is a great opportunity for young Australians to work closely with youth delegates from a range of countries, to discuss issues of importance to young people and provide relevant and creative recommendations,” Mr Garrett said.

Delegates to the Commonwealth Youth Forum were selected by the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, on behalf of the Office of Youth.

The delegates will produce a communiqué which will be circulated at CHOGM and presented to the Commonwealth Secretariat, giving young people a chance to have their opinions heard by the leaders of the Commonwealth countries.

A list of the selected delegates is provided below. More information on the Commonwealth Youth Forum is available at www.youth.gov.au/cyf.