Representing Australia

Rooan Al Kalmashi is a remarkable young woman. Born in Baghdad in 2000, her family belonged to the minority Mandaean community, an ethno-religious group native to Iran and Iraq. When Rooan was three years old, the US and its allies invaded Iraq. The ensuing chaos and the rise of Islamic extremism meant persecution for the Mandaeans. 

Forced to flee to Jordan with her family, Rooan's early years were marked by uncertainty and limited access to education.

After several years of waiting, the family finally secured asylum in Australia.

From these traumatic beginnings, she has risen to become a successful student, paralegal, consultant and emerging graduate specialising in International and Humanitarian Law.

Motivated by her family's personal experiences, Rooan is passionate about advocating for human rights and making a difference on a global scale:

It informs my political beliefs, ideas and my policy proposals. I feel strongly that the human rights agenda is losing traction so I am determined to work in this area and contribute to international law, policy and diplomacy.

This commitment led Rooan to the rigorous selection process for a national scholarship to become one of Australia’s five young delegates at the Y20 Summit.

The Summit is a consultation forum for young people from all G20 countries. It provides an opportunity for dialogue and connection and encourages future leaders to raise awareness of global issues, exchange ideas, debate, negotiate and reach consensus. This culminates in the annual youth communique which will be presented at the 2023 G20 Summit.

Rooan says the delegates are each allocated one of the five key themes for this year’s Y20:

I was selected as Australia’s Delegate for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation. I submitted a policy proposal on Leveraging Peacebuilding Successes in the Indo-Pacific to Inform Strategies in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The other themes are Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction; Future of Work; Health, Wellbeing and Sports; and Shared Future. 

The negotiation and consultation process of the Y20 has already begun. In early May, Rooan spent a week at the pre-Summit in Ladakh in Northern India where she met other youth representatives who all made personal statements based on their designated themes.

Since then, she’s been involved in a range of meetings in Canberra including with DFAT, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the Indian Embassy.

This would be an onerous schedule for any university student but along with these commitments and her Law studies, Rooan also works full-time. She says the UTS Law degree is unique in facilitating this:

I am incredibly grateful for the flexibility the degree allows. UTS Law allows me to do my subjects in the evenings which means I can both study and gain valuable hands-on work experience along with financial benefit through my employment. I don’t know of any other Law degree which makes this possible.

Rooan also praises UTS Law’s lecturers and tutors for providing a supportive learning environment that recognises the importance of pursuing diverse interests.

Dr Renata Grossi led Rooan in the study of Jurisprudence: 

Rooan Al Kalmashi was an engaged student whose interest in the major issues of the world were evident in her contributions to the class. For her research essay Rooan chose her own topic and engaged in an excellent intersectional feminist discussion of rape as a weapon of war.

Rooan is continuing to research and liaise with her other Y20 representative colleagues on the Peace and Reconciliation proposal. She’ll travel to India again in late August where the five themes will be finalised as the annual communique and then presented to world leaders at the G20 Summit in New Delhi in early September.