|
| |
Young Australian of the Year and Young Person of the World for 2004 in Durban
31 January 2005
From tomorrow for about 10 days, Hugh Evans, an
exceptional young Australian will be with me with a team of 11 other people in
the Durban area. Some of his accomplishments are the following:
- Chosen as Young Australian of the Year for 2004 - a
prestigious award given on Australia Day each year (one of three
categories, Senior Australian of the Year, Australian of the Year, and Young
Australian of the Year, the latter two being the most prominent).
- Chosen by Junior Chambers International (JCI) as one of 10 Outstanding Young
People of the World for 2004 (there is no one person selected above all ten).
JCI is an organisation with 6000 chapters in over 100 countries, and Hugh was
chosen from 246 nominations from 107 countries. Previous winners included former
US President J F Kennedy, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, rock
star Elvis Persley, software expert Linius Torvalds, management guru Anthony
Robbins actor, Hollywood action star Jackie Chan and Sri Lankan cricketer Arjuna
Ranatunga. This year, Queen Rania Al Abdullah II of Jordan has been chosen for
humanitarian leadership along with Hugh.
-Started an organisation called the Oaktree Foundation, which mobilizes
thousands of young people around Australia, especially high school and
university students, to empower and equip children and youth in the developing
world. The organisation has over 1000 volunteers and was started about 2 years
ago.
-In 2002 Hugh spent seven months working in the impoverished Embo community in
the Valley of 1000 Hills, leading the construction of a sports field and
community library. He also worked in an AIDS cluster home in Cato Ridge, where he
established a new child sponsorship program, and helped to establish the Youth
Ambassador Program for World Vision.
Below are some of the highlights of his
program while
he is here in Durban:
-Speaking at World Changers Academy leadership course (for out-of-school youth)
on Tuesday (Feb 1)
-Speaking at schools (mostly in townships) early Tuesday morning plus all
morning on Wednesday and Thursday (Feb 2 and 3)
-Speaking to principals and teachers from around Durban at Durban Girls College
on Friday (Feb 4)
-Going on Zulu cultural tour, staying in Zulu community with Vuka Africa Tours
(started by former a World Changers student) from Friday to Sunday (Feb 4-6)
-Spending time with Sethani, a children's support program for the valley
children, which Oaktree is funding on Monday to Wednesday (Feb 7-9)
-Taking the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister to World Changers and Sethani on
Wednesday (Feb 9)
-Facilitating a workshop for people involved in empowering young people on
Thursday (Feb 17)
|
