Young Leader of the Year
Fatima Zahra
Fatima volunteers across a huge range of projects, from coaching archery, to leading environmental clean-up initiatives, to fundraising hundreds of dollars for communities impacted by natural disasters and war. Her advocacy focuses on issues both local, particularly those affecting Hume’s multicultural communities and their peers; and global, such as delivering speeches on Islamophobia and the value of community service. She has shown initiative and compassion, and in the words of her teacher, is always kind and caring.
Young Group of the Year
Glenroy EFKS Youth Group
The Glenroy EFKS Youth Group led the inaugural Pacific Island Health Equity Day, where they MCed, moderated and facilitated the event. In addition to this, they have planned, implemented, and executed an event focused on improving employment pathways for Pasifika young people in Hume. Through initiatives like these, the youth group have addressed critical needs of their community, as well as inspired and empowered their peers through their leadership, responsibility, resilience and commitment.
Finalists: Mt Ridley Year 12 Advocacy Group
Young Creative Leader
Fedele Ghanim
Fedele uses storytelling to create a safe and engaging space to talk about critical issues for young people, including settlement and adjusting to new spaces, and mental health. Through his podcast, which he writes, hosts and produces, he shares his own experiences with these issues, as well as those of the guests he invites on, normalising conversations around mental health and encouraging others to seek support.
Finalists: Sahez Singh, Nirmala Ganesh
Young Gender Equity Leader
Sowmya Ghimire
Sowmya supports gender equity across a number of platforms. Creatively, she has written a short story about gender and cultural issues which she hopes will inspire other young people from diverse cultural backgrounds to share their stories. She is currently working on a piece challenging beauty ideals. Sowmya is also one of the founding members of the Youth Against Homophobia group at her school, in which she advocates for an inclusive, safe, and engaging space.
Young Sports Leader
Shalom Uatisone
Shalom is a mentor, captain and state champion of Rugby League. As well as coaching his team, he coaches younger students at lunchtime, who look up to him for his leadership, knowledge, skills, and kindness.
Finalists: Sahnan Saini, Jake Johnston
Young Social Entrepreneur Leader
Bianca Meneghetti
Bianca is a business owner and employer at just 23 years old. She runs a dessert business called The Crumble Corner, which has grown impressively in the few short years she has been running it, Bianca cares for her staff and always strives to inspire them.
Young Advocacy Leader
Ammar Mahmoud
Ammar shows leadership and advocacy across a wide range of platforms. He represents young people in Hume as a member of the Victorian Youth Congress, and has also been a member of the Kalkallo Youth Advisory Council for two years, where they have driven initiatives focusing on the development of life skills and career guidance for young people. Ammar has also advocated on global issues which are important to the Hume community. This work has included initiating a petition advocating for a ceasefire in Palestine, which garnered over 15,000 signatures, and which was presented in Federal Parliament.
Finalists: Jasmine Roeschmann, Mantasha Shaikh, Fatima Zahra
Emerging Leaders
In 2024, the assessment panel recognised several young people who were growing as leaders in their community and wanted to encourage them to continue their leadership journey, as they felt that with time and patience, all of these young people could emerge as strong, vibrant and passionate leaders in their chosen fields. The 2024 Emerging Leaders were Atena Kashani, Brodey Baginski-Charles, Ella Moran, Yousif Butrus, and the Naughty Broady team from Banksia Gardens.
Young Aboriginal Leader
Lily Salmon
Lily regularly delivers a Welcome to Country at her school and associated events. She spoke on behalf of her Mob at an ANZAC ceremony earlier this year, and also advocates and plans for diversity and inclusion at her school and represents her indigenous peers at every opportunity.
Young Environmental Leader
Lucas Soe Chu-Shing
Lucas volunteers at a local Salvation Army op shop to promote the use of second-hand clothing. He has also inspired his family and community to take up recycling bottles and containers through Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme, creating sustainable change. Finally, he has worked with other young people to plant trees for a local resident, supporting a positive relationship with nature and setting a great example for other young people.