2007 Media Releases
Friday 30 November, 2007
Twenty Young Australian-Muslims Graduate as Community Leaders
Twenty young Australian Muslims received graduation certificates as Australian-Islamic community leaders from Premier John Brumby at Parliament House last week. The Vice Chancellor of La Trobe University, Professor Paul Johnson, presented the graduands to the Premier.
Aged between 18 and 30, the young leaders are the first cohort of young Muslims to graduate from a new Leadership Training Program for Young Muslims conducted by La Trobe University’s Centre for Dialogue in Bundoora. The program will run again in 2008.
Premier Brumby presented their certificates at a special ceremony attended by Islamic, civic and community leaders at Parliament House, Spring Street, at 6.30 pm on Wednesday, 21 November.
Conducted by the Centre for Dialogue in association with the Islamic Council of Victoria, and supported by the Premier and the Victorian State Government, the Leadership Training Program for Young Muslims is the first of its kind in Australia.
It aims to equip young Muslim leaders with the confidence, skills and leadership qualities to step up to the social and cultural challenges facing people of Islamic faith in today’s Australia.
Selected by interview from 65 applicants from Melbourne’s diverse Muslim community, the first 20 young leaders participated in three months of intensive workshops, lectures, training, field trips and study tours aimed at familiarizing them with all aspects of Australian social, economic, political and cultural life, including Australia’s role in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.
From May to August this year they attended briefings by academics, politicians, business leaders and diplomats, met religious leaders of all faiths, indigenous and other community leaders, journalists, academics and students; and participated in lectures, tutorials, and question-and-answer workshops on diverse social, cultural and geo-political issues (shaped by La Trobe political scientists Professors Joseph Camilleri and Robert Manne).
La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor Paul Johnson said the Program was an innovative initiative representing the University’s continuing commitment to community engagement, and particularly to the work of its Centre for Dialogue - in what he hoped would be an enduring partnership with the Islamic Council of Victoria, and the Victorian Government.
“Of the many challenges we face as a nation, none is more important than making this society one which values and nurtures its rich cultural and religious diversity. Australia’s Muslim communities, representing one of the world’s great religious traditions, have much to contribute,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
“Much has been said in recent years about a looming ‘clash of civilizations’ between Islam and the West. During a period marked by international and sometimes local tensions, Australian Muslims have been subjected to powerful pressures and often less than flattering media attention. We need young Muslim leaders who can speak clearly and confidently about the issues confronting people of Islamic faith in Australia today - and play a full and constructive role in shaping Australia’s future.
“This Program aims to address that need, and to equip these young people with the full range of analytical, writing, oral and organization skills they will need to do that,” he said.
Contacts:
La Trobe University Centre for Dialogue:
Professor Joseph Camilleri, Director., T 03 9479 2698 AH: 03 9379 3889 : E: j.camilleri@latrobe.edu.au