Meet our Youth Activists for 2021

Born in rural Vietnam, with an upbringing between Singapore and Australia, Jazmin is currently studying Security. She is passionate about actively making a better future for her generation, and for generations to come.

She wants to use this passion to create a more equitable world, from which everyone can benefit. Jazmin has an interest in foreign languages and cultures, and loves wearing turtle necks.

Born in Melbourne, Harleen is 16 and currently in year 11 striving to empower youth to find their voice and speak out on things that matter. She has a passion to see and live in a more equitable world, where diversity is celebrated and cherished. Her great investments within politics, human rights issues, and intersectional feminism, has pushed her to further see the underlying need for change that she hopes to make with Plan International Australia.

Harleen works within her local council, tackling issues such as climate change, and within her community, she’s developed a program to aid marginalised groups to speak out against mistreatment, alongside her likeminded and amazing friends. Harleen also hopes to enforce more representation of women in leadership as well as women in STEM. In her spare time, Harleen’s probably doing maths homework or often drinking Kombucha, whilst simultaneously endlessly scrolling through Tik-Tok.

Beatrice is a university student studying Arts and Science. They are interested in environmental science and sustainability, gender studies and Southeast Asian languages. As a non-binary person, Beatrice is passionate about deconstructing the gender binary and feels strongly about taking action to move towards a more equal and sustainable future globally.

Beatrice also enjoys reading, cooking and appreciating nature in their spare time. They also collect second-hand Twilight merchandise.

Lizzie is currently studying environmental engineering, with a particular interest in resource allocation, waste management and environmental health. Coping with climate change brings many challenges and Lizzie shares the view that diverse voices and perspectives must be central in decision making, as solutions need to reflect who they represent.

Lizzie is excited to work with and contribute to Plan International Australia’s vision and meet like-minded individuals. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, being outdoors and drawing fish.

Sandhya is a Malaysian-Australian student and proud advocate for gender justice. She envisages a world in which all young people are empowered to make informed decisions about their lives and our collective global future. Through her work with Plan International Australia, she hopes to amplify youth voices and ethnically diverse perspectives in the movement for greater social equity.

At university, Sandhya is pursuing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Most of her free time is spent volunteering for UN Youth Australia, disappearing down Wikipedia rabbit-holes, and negotiating with her (generally) uncooperative sewing machine.

Siena is a queer mental health advocate from regional NSW. Studying Game Design, they are passionate about improving representation in gaming and wider media.

Siena believes a crucial component of achieving gender justice is developing a coordinated government response to address gender based violence.

Margaret is a Greek-Australian artist and activist, who mainly works in theatre and film as a director, actor and writer. She is a proud intersectional feminist who is deeply passionate about telling stories that put women at the forefront. Margaret works in pursuit of genuinely feminist stories in her art, exploring controversial issues such as pornography, abortion rights and sexual harassment.

Margaret is also a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Arts – Theatre and Performance Studies and Film Studies from the University of Sydney and in her spare time, she loves to write poems, watch movies and have a boogie on the dance floor. She has also been described as ‘the Most Taurus Taurus that ever lived’. Margaret is so excited to be working with Plan International Australia this year, and is keen to focus on ending online violence and harassment, child marriage and strengthening abortion rights across the globe.

Olivia is from Sydney and is studying a Bachelor of Arts/Laws, majoring in Politics and International Relations. With a strong social conscience and through her experience with public speaking, debating, and YMCA NSW’s Youth Parliament, Olivia has learned to raise awareness for issues she believes require action.

Hoping to work collectively to create an equitable future, Olivia’s goal is to champion the voice of youth, drive positive change, advocating for those who are marginalised, discriminated against and silenced. In her spare time, Olivia loves all disciplines of the performing arts, teaches dance, and self-proclaimed Disney fanatic.

Kayshini is a young IT professional, currently working in a leading Global Technology Consultancy Services firm.

She is passionate about technological change and innovation. She also has a strong interest in gender empowerment in STEM careers and has participated in volunteering initiatives within her organisation which promotes this. She hopes to gain immense value from this program to further amplify her voice and impact.