Australia embassy hosts prominent young activist
Australia’s embassy in Israel has hosted Yassmin Abdel Magied a prominent young Australian voice on gender equality, overcoming unconscious bias, and women’s empowerment.
Yassmin Abdel Magied
Yassmin has achieved more in her 25 years than most people achieve in a lifetime. Born in Sudan, Yassmin migrated to Australia when she was two. She is a qualified mechanical engineer with years of experience working on an oilrig. She is an activist and founder of youth without borders, an NGO empowering young people to work together to positively change their communities, and has given a ted talk on unconscious bias that has been viewed upwards of 1.5 million times.
This year, she released a memoir, Yassmin’s Story – Who do you think I am in which she describes growing up migrant and Muslim in Australia. She has also been named Young Australian Muslim of the Year and Young Leader of the Year by prominent Australian newspaper the Australian Financial Review. And her pursuits are not limited to the workplace, Yassmin is also an amateur boxer, racing car designer, footballer and motorsport enthusiast.
Yassmin’s visit to Israel was an opportunity for the embassy to reach out and engage different sectors of Israeli society.
Her flying visit included a morning spent at Tel Aviv’s Bialik Rogozin School for over 1000 students from underprivileged backgrounds, inspiring migrant students to overcome challenges and realise their dreams.
Yassmin lectured to a packed out auditorium at the Tel Aviv University on overcoming bias in the workplace and women’s empowerment.
A round table discussion was also held at the embassy, where Yassmin discussed ways women can overcome barriers to success in Israel with a range of Israeli civil society associations, including Naamat, Hadassah, Bnei Brit, and the Perese Centre for Peace.
Yassmin met with industry heads to review best practices for female participation in male-dominated industries such as the oil and gas sector.
Yassmin Abdel Magied has appeared as a panelist in ABC-TV’s Q&A.
