A member of the Melville Youth Advisory Council (YAC) has been selected to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference in New York and Washington D.C. in mid 2008. Amy Coetzee is set to join participants from more than 100 countries at the conference, which gives young leaders a special opportunity to meet each other and explore global leadership issues.
Since 2005, Amy has been a member of the City of Melville supported YAC, and has also served time as secretary.
The Melville YAC is a group of local young people aged 14 to 23, who meet monthly to discuss youth issues, plan events and advocate Local and State Government on behalf of youth.
“I am passionate about making sure youth have a voice in the community and are part of the consultation process,” Amy Coetzee said.
Amy said she had always wanted to take a leading role to change the world for the better.
“I was born and raised in South Africa and lived with the reality of poverty and the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor,” she said. “I felt helpless. At a grassroots level, life changing programs that work to help lift communities out of poverty are essential, but I’ve discovered that the long term solution to create change is to work from the top where you can influence laws and policies.”
The confernce gives aspiring young leaders, aged 16 to 18, a greater understanding of issues such as diplomacy, law, human rights, peace, security, economics and the role of the United Nations. Participants can also learn from and exchange ideas with some of the world’s top business leaders, policy officials, lobbyists, journalists, diplomats and academics.
