2025 NT Young Australian of the Year Nilesh Dilushan

Australian Community Media

Meet Your Australians - 2025 NT Young Australian of the Year Nilesh Dilushan. ACM is proud to be media partner for the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards.

Transcript

00:00When I arrived to the Northern Territory in my early twenties, I had only two things.

00:06I had a bag of dreams and a luggage of hopes.

00:08The Northern Territory has given me the opportunities to grow.

00:12It has given me the people I call my community.

00:15It has given me the place that I call home.

00:18I believe the best way to feel belong to a place is to participate.

00:23And there is no better way to participate other than volunteering.

00:27When the whole world sought for the pandemic, a group of friends, former and current international

00:33students came together to establish a task force called Kindness Shake.

00:37We have delivered 8,000 meals for more than 800 individuals who are facing financial hardship

00:45due to COVID pandemic.

00:47Today, Kindness Shake is a leading advocacy, peak international student body in the Northern

00:54Territory, working for the advancement of international education.

00:58And I further went on developing another not-for-profit called Road Track Young Professionals, bringing

01:05all the service-minded young leaders together to harness their skills and expertise to give

01:10back to the Territory.

01:12They are all your lawyers, they are your engineers, your accountants, nurses and occupational

01:17therapists and so on.

01:20They all give up their time to add value to the place that we live through community service

01:26projects.

01:27When I arrived to Australia, I was welcome to the Northern Territory.

01:33But today, there are important key reforms that are happening nationally that bring uncertainty

01:40and questions among our international student community.

01:44It brings a question whether Australia is still the most preferred education destination.

01:49This is an opportunity for us to acknowledge and understand the importance of international

01:56education and the values that it brings to this country.

01:59As a former international student and a multicultural youth in the Northern Territory, it is so

02:04important for me to inspire the next generation of young leaders to step up and contribute

02:09to the communities in the ways that they're truly passionate about.

02:14Everything that I've done and everything that I will do in the future is the way I give

02:18back to the place that I live, the Territory.

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