By ALANA MITCHELSON
AN OFFICER teenager is part of an eye-opening student summit focused on the complex issues surrounding the modern Middle East, Islamophobia and Muslim extremism.
Daanyal Saeed has encouraged students from Year 10 to first-year university to join the conversation with a string of guest speakers at a Modern Middle East summit this weekend.
The articulate 17-year-old second-generation immigrant is part of a not-for-profit student organisation called Feel Think Flow that aims to educate young people on global issues.
“Young people get pushed out of the political debate so often that you start to feel disenfranchised,” Daanyal said.
“The idea of this summit is to educate people and empower them in these political discussions.”
He said the summit would touch on Islamophobia, gender equality, the war on terror and the Iranian Revolution, as well as instances where words have been misappropriated and associated with extremism.
Identifying as a Muslim himself, Daanyal admitted to having faced discrimination first-hand.
“Politicians like Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson who use the rhetoric that they do becomes very divisive and it’s not helpful,” he said.
“I think there’s a facade of tolerance in Australian communities to a point. There’s a long way to go but the rhetoric needs to be shifted. Rather than Muslims and Australians, there needs to be a movement towards Muslims being seen as Australians.”
There are three guest speakers lined up for the day including Iman Farrar’s talk on radicalisation, Islamic Museum of Australia director Sherene Hassan and a politician.
Attendees will then have an opportunity to ask the speakers questions, prompting a panel discussion.
An interactive political simulation will follow whereby students are divided into groups representing the views of various parties with invested interests in a particular political scenario.
Students will be forced to think outside of their personal beliefs and think about issues in a different way and from varied perspectives.
“Students at the summit will gain an appreciation for politics and its processes, and to develop open minds about both sides of the debate,“ Daanyal said.
“It also offers an introduction to key international relations theory and global justice and an opportunity to engage with charities and organisations that work to create social change.
“Students also find that you get to meet like-minded people and make friends.”
Students from Nossal High School, St Margaret’s, Beaconhills, Berwick Grammar and Berwick High School will be among the 200 students expected at this year’s event.
Last year, Feel Think Flow ran their first student summit on refugee policy at the University of Melbourne, which was attended by more than 120 senior school students from across the state.
The summit will be held from 9am to 3pm, on Saturday 23 July, at Camberwell Grammar School in Canterbury.
For more information visit feelthinkflow.com
