Trip to spur new ideas

A Warnbro woman is one of seven people selected to visit Hong Kong in February for a week to broaden their horizons.

Born in the African country of Eritrea, Sara Shengeb, 22, moved to Australia as a political refugee with her mother and siblings 41/2 years ago.

She is studying at the University of Western Australia, works for the Youth Affairs Council of WA and has a passion for issues affecting young people today.

“The program is an exchange between the young people of Hong Kong and Western Australia and is supported by the State Government and YACWA,” Ms Shengeb said.

“Although I do work in the youth sector and we engage with a lot of young people that are from different backgrounds, I haven’t had as much experience as I would like with people that come from an East Asian background.

“That was my main motive to want to participate in this because I think that it’s very important that we look to engage with every community.”

As part of the exchange program, seven young people from Hong Kong visited Perth earlier this month to learn about life in WA and the initiatives running in the State.

During their stay, the Hong Kong delegation presented on issues they face, including homelessness, and performed tai chi, teaching their WA counterparts some moves too.

“It was very surprising that a lot of the issues they face are the same ones we face here,” Ms Shengeb said.

“When I go to Hong Kong I would like to experience their culture, their food, and I would like to learn a lot more about the different initiatives they take, especially the youth-led ones and compare it to what we have in WA and, if it’s more advanced, then see what we can improve.”