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NAM-Oz reporter named Young Victorian of the Year

MELBOURNE - Wesa Chau, a leading advocate for international students and a member of an innovative media mentoring project, has been named Young Victorian of the Year.

Ms Chau, 27, founded the Australian Federation of International Students (AFIS) in 2002 after emigrating to Australia from China as a child.  She received her award on Thursday at a ceremony to mark Victoria Day held at Melbourne Town Hall.

Wesa has worked with her mentor Hugo Kelly to raise awarness of the difficulties confronting international students.  She is one of a number of young people who receive ongoing mentorship through the New Australia Media (NAM) project.

NAM is a voluntary project matching some of Australia’s best and most experienced journalists with young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds to provide basic journalism skills - allowing them to contribute to Australian media.

The Victoria Day Council, announcing her award today, said Wesa has been instrumental in bridging the gap between international students and the wider community. 

New Australia Media founder Agnes Cusack said:  "We are proud to have someone of the calibre of Wesa Chau in our program.  Her achievements demonstrate how giving young people a voice in our community can be the first step to understanding and meeting the needs of marginalised communities."

During her NAM menteeship, Wesa has appeared on TV and radio and written for newspapers and online advocating for international students. 

This is an extract from one of Wesa’s articles on the problems facing young international students in Australia:

The philosophy behind the Government’s changes, announced in February by Immigration Minister Chris Evans, is to ensure approved courses are relevant to skills needs in the community.  And it’s clear a shake-up was needed; there are so many students who studied cookery or hairdressing, applied for permanent residency and are now working in call centres or driving taxis.

But the plight of Albertina, Tarun and many others indicates the need for transition pathway for students who followed the rules and now, through no fault of their own, face uncertain futures.