News / Community
Recognition for Brunswick community advocate
At 25, Ahmed Hassan is already a veteran leader for his community
Brunswick Voice
Thursday, November 11, 2021
THE 25-year-old co-founder of a Brunswick-based service which helps marginalised young people was last night named 2022 Victoria Young Australian of the Year.
In 2014, at the age of 18, Ahmed Hassan co-founded Youth Activating Youth, alongside fellow community leader and current CEO, Ali Ahmed.
Based out of the Brunswick Town Hall building, YAY delivers programs to build the self-confidence and self-sufficiency of young people particularly from Melbourne’s African migrant community so that they can advance in education, employment, health and wellbeing.
Since founding YAY, Mr Hassan has been a leading community advocate and spokesman. He was born in Melbourne to parents from Somalia and Eritrea.
After contracting COVID-19 last year, he has spent recent months encouraging members of African and Arabic communities in the northern suburbs to get vaccinated.
Mr Hassan will now travel to Canberra in January for the national Young Australian of the Year award.
The 2022 Victorian of the Year is Paralympian and wheelchair athlete Dylan Alcott, who announced his retirement from tennis this week.
A Brunswick West woman, Phaik See ‘Cecilia’ Chuah was a finalist for the 2022 Victoria Local Hero award.
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Meet the Brunswick woman feeding Melbourne’s homeless