Victorian Youth Somalia Network (VYSN)
Monday, November 02, 2009
A conference about Somali Youth Education “ The Best of Two Worlds”, presented by the Victorian Youth Somali Network (VYSN), took place on Saturday the 24thof October at Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
The attendees of the conference included many of the Somali youth, parents, community leaders and guests from various organisations including the Somali Australian Friendship Association (SAFA).
The conference focused on the importance of education and obstacles facing Somali youth and what can be done to break these barriers in order for the youth to do extremely well on education, these barriers include: the mindset that most Somalis need to go back Somalia, a lack of commitment by parents, poor schooling, lack of a supportive environment and low socio-economic backgrounds. All these factors contribute towards the high failure rate of the Somali youth on education institutes. The conference was presented in a very well manner which included an entertaining short play starring some of the Somali Youth which highlighted real life experiences some youth face in the west.
Speaking at the conference, Ahmed Yusuf a highly articulate and inspirational person enlightened the audience about the inter-generational issues affecting some of the Somali community living in Australia. He stated the Somali the Diaspora communities living in Australia are very big and some of these people have been living in Australia for more than twenty years and therefore, can no longer say “we are new to this country”. He suggested that the “reverse gear” mindset, to go back to Somalia had failed and it is time to have a long term prospective in settling down in Australia while inspiring kids through education for a better future. He said Australia is a country that offers so many opportunities and the youth need to make use of these opportunities. He indicated some of the Somali youth are already coming through universities, success is becoming evident and examples of such flourishing youth were seen as the youth spoke at the conference.
ZamZam Hersi, a bright young female university student talked about intergenerational issues. She explored the barriers preventing youth to succeed in their education and she suggested the need for parent to have knowledge on the Australian education system and other services available to students. She then continued to highlight the importance of parents providing emotional and financial support to their children. The need to provide a designated and supportive environment/area for study was necessary for students in order for them to help each other, and obtain more assistance from their parents and families. She concluded on her talk the necessity of motivation as a very important factor for every student who is undertaking studies.
Sada Nor, another insightful young female university student, spoke about the education and how the youth need to invest in education with their time and effort. She stressed the need for university students and graduates to become role models for future generations and youth in order to help them with their studies. She also mentioned that our religion, Islam, encourages us to learn and the first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was “Iqra” meaning “read” and also mention A hadith by Ibnu Hajir : “ who ever seeks a path to knowledge, Allah will give him/her a path to paradise.” Sada made the point that “through knowledge communities are built, nations are established and empires are created and without knowledge our actions are fruit less despite our good intentions.” Furthermore she stated in order to make peace in Somalia, it needs to be rebuilt for economic growth and stability. All individuals are required to do their best to acquire education whether it is a degree, diploma or certificate and the community needs to encourage not only prestigious careers such as doctors and engineering, but also the other careers including plumbers, fire fighters, psychologists and others which are all equally important.
Abdifitah Yusuf, a talented young Somalian man who works for an Australian company called Sensors, also delivered a very interesting and life touching speech. He talked about the path he had taken for education almost ten years ago. After arriving in Melbourne for only two weeks, he enrolled himself in a collage. He described the difficulty and lack of understanding he faced on his first university lecture experience and how this almost lead his dream of education towards into a state of being crushed with self-doubt. However, through simple determination and the advice of family and their support, he was encouraged to attend his next lecture and from that day onwards he never looked back and went on to successfully complete his degree in finance.
Hamdi Hussein, another intelligent young Somali female who has completed her studies in education said that “the number of Somali youth who are enrolling in her university has increased from 2004 to 2009.”
Qamar Ali, another moving young Somali female who is completing her final year of teaching, also discussed her views on education and how important it is for youth to get on the path of education.
Hussein Mahmud, A well spoken young Somali male University student also talked about education and contributed to the panel discussion, He also suggested the importance of education in young peoples lives and that they should all do their best to gain education.
Samira Mahmud, another inspiring young Somali female talked about her first degree for art and how she went on to do further studies and has now completed her teaching degree.
Abdiaziz, A young Somalian guy talked about a very touching experience that got the attention of all the audience, He described his experience of going back to Somalia and how that experience turn him into a real mature young man. he mentioned the youth in Somalia are keen to learn education but they are lacking resource and there are no proper education system in place and sometimes schools have to be canceled for lack of securities, when he come back to Australia he realized, how lucky he is to live in a country where education is offered to anyone who is willing to take advantage of it. Abdiaziz is continuing his education now and in the future he wants to help the Somalian community back home through education.
Overall, the conference was an eye opener for many of the people who attended. The speeches and panel discussion were very interesting and will insha’Allah remain in the minds of many of the youth who participated in the conference.