A Bacchus Marsh university student will present her findings on youth unemployment at an international forum in Washington DC this week.
Jordan Wren, 22, left for the United States on Saturday as one of six Australians who will attend the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings on a full Global Voices scholarship.
Global Voices is a non-profit organisation that aims to provide opportunities for young Australians to engage with international policy at home and abroad.
Wren, a master of international relations student at Monash University, hopes to address the issue of youth unemployment through entrepreneurship.
“It’s an issue that we often don’t associate with Australia, but it affects all communities,” she says. “It has a domino impact, bearing on mental and physical health, professional experience, housing, socialising and further down the line in career choices.”
Wren says she would like to see more young people given the opportunity for education and training in agricultural skills.
“It’s definitely something worth exploring, because ideally businesses employ locally and need young people with the right training.”
The US visit will include seminars, workshops and briefings relating to the global economy, international development and global financial markets.
Previously a recipient of the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Award – which supports educational exchange between undergraduate and postgraduate students in Australia and Asia – Wren says she is looking to develop her diplomatic skills at the forum, which finishes on Monday. “[It’ll] allow me to put my skills and knowledge of economics into practice.”
Wren also attended preparation activities in Canberra in mid-March, meeting Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other government figures. She will complete a research fellowship with Global Voices as part of the experience.
