Australia

Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus Chair Matthew Albert feels strongly about consensus.

“In my view,” says Matthew, “the belief in consensus is something we should cling to and in which we should be very proud.”

The 27-year-old Australian describes the Commonwealth value as a very rewarding process if done well.  

“In the Commonwealth setting, it is satisfying to see differences being prioritised, some differences being set aside and each of us accommodating

and respecting our brothers and sisters from across the Commonwealth.”

And, Matthew says, it lends weight to Commonwealth decisions.

“Seeing Commonwealth leaders, young and old, achieve consensus though compromise gives great and justified weight to the integrity of the decisions and statements of the Commonwealth.”

Matthew works full-time as a lawyer and is presently the Associate to the Honourable Justice Habersberger of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia.

His law experience is primarily in constitutional and administrative law, though in 2005 he worked as the research assistant to the Solicitor General for Victoria in her role as legal adviser to the Victorian Human Rights Consultative Committee.  At the end of 2008 Matthew will begin a Masters in Public International Law at the University of Oxford.

Matthew’s passion for law doesn’t lie only in the paperwork though.  

“Legal discipline is a useful tool in crafting messages and explaining issues. Whether it is on behalf of a contemporary who needs someone to speak on their behalf, or in a court room for a client, advocacy skills are critical to changing the way people and issues are perceived.”

When he was just 20, Matthew co-founded the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program which provides free English support and community services to Sudanese refugees. It now engages over 350 volunteers from seven campuses in Melbourne and Sydney.

Matthew also founded the Sudanese Online Research Association, an online advocacy centre for the global Sudanese diaspora.

In 2004, he travelled to the Kakuma refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya and saw first-hand what some of the families he was working with had experienced, working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“I found the people at the Kakuma refugee camp inspiring, especially those who were around my age. In a difficult setting and time, almost all of them were determined to make the very best of what they had and to build skills and knowledge for the future and for peace in their homelands.”

Matthew’s work has not gone unnoticed, either.

In 2005 he was named the Young Australian of the Year for Victoria, and in the same year was named by Junior Chamber International as one of the ‘Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World’ for his contributions to “children, world peace and human rights”. He has been appointed an Australia Day ambassador for the past three years and sits on numerous boards for refugee and education-related organisations.

In his eight years of experience working in youth advocacy, Matthew has come to view mental health issues as one of the biggest challenges for young people across the Commonwealth. 

“It’s an issue for young people that, in my view, deserves and requires more attention. A large number of young people struggle with mental health issues across the Commonwealth, not least in my own country.

“There seems to me to be a disproportionate lack of recognition of mental health as well as a lack of resources to assist young people in tackling these issues.”

With the support of the Commonwealth Youth Programme South Pacific (CYPSP), Matthew is spearheading a free telephone counselling initiative for young Pacific people.

CYPSP is currently working towards a pilot with Lifeline Australia to give Pacific youth access to the free service, with a focus on overcoming language and confidentiality issues.

“I hope that CYP will be able to bring to the Pacific a service that has enjoyed great success in Australia. If only one person benefits from it, it will be worthwhile. Once we have tailored the service, I expect it will be accessed and used across our region. I look forward to that day.”

Matthew will lead the Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus (PCYC) for two years and says while it is an honour and privilege, there are a number of challenges ahead.

“We are trying to be a representative voice for a range of issues as broad as can be imagined,” says Matthew.

“We are there to put issues forward to decision makers and to guide them on what our peers seek most – peace, health, education, employment, an equal say and a wealth of opportunity.

“Negotiating priorities and trying to be an effective voice for all is a skill that we will have to refine. But this will be made easier by virtue of having a very strong caucus of committed and informed representatives, which we have in the present caucus.” 

Matthew says that in previous years the PCYC’s role in the Commonwealth has been limited to the governance of Commonwealth, but with PCYC Vice-Chair Ebonie Fifita, he’d like to develop that role.

“I would like to see the PCYC grow to be a source of insight into the situation of people under-30 in all Commonwealth countries for other agencies and for the media.”

Email: pcycchair@gmail.com