GLOSS Issue 23 JULY 2015 | Page 6

Y assmin Abdel-Magied’s professional profile could fill an entire issue of this magazine. You may have recently seen her sitting next to Germaine Greer on the special International Women’s Day edition of “Q & A”, where she held her own with Greer, host Annabel Crabb, and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, among others. As a TEDx speaker, Yassmin has called for us to think beyond our unconscious bias and work as mentors to open doors for those that often can’t even make it to the hallway. ASK, AND YOU WILL GIVE: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH YASSMIN ABDEL-MAGIED Sunili Govinnage GLOSSJULY 2015 Kate Matheson As well as being a mechanical engineer (she currently works on oil rigs), Yassmin is the President and Chair of Youth Without Borders, a non-profit organisation she founded at the age of 16. YWB focuses on enabling young people to work for positive change in their communities – something that Yassmin does very well. She’s also on the board of ChildFund Australia, an independent and non-religious international development organisation that works to reduce poverty for children in the developing world, and United Nations Youth Association. In 2007, Yassmin was Young Australian Muslim of the Year for her work in the community. In 2012 she was named Young Leader in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s inaugural 100 Women of Influence Awards. She was 2015 Queensland Young Australian of the Year and has been appointed to the Australian Multicultural Council, the Board of the