Despite their youth, both Melissa Dimmick and Anthony Obeyesekere are veterans when it comes to providing high-level Government advice.
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The two Canberra students, who have just been announced by Youth Minister Peter Garrett as delegates to the Commonwealth Youth forum, have spent years representing young people across a wide range of official advisory bodies and forums.
Mr Obeyesekere, 25, a Masters student at the Australian National University, co-founded Youth Without Borders in Queensland in 2008 and has been an active youth advocate for years.
Ms Dimmick, 23, who is completing a commercial cookery course at the Canberra Institute of Technology, is a member of the ACT Youth Advisory Council and is a national youth delegate for the Create Foundation - the peak body representing children and young people in out-of-home care.
Ms Dimmick experienced many years of living in refugees after becoming estranged from her mother at age 15.
She is passionate to ensure disadvantaged young people have a voice because of the unique challenges they face in all aspects of life - from finding housing and employment to completing their education.
Mr Obeyesekere is similarly passionate to see that young people are encouraged to take part in policy formation and decision-making ''because young people are the decision-makers of tomorrow and we need to be part of the process wherever we can''.
Both Ms Dimmick and Mr Obeyesekere were thrilled to be joining 28 Australian delegates and more than 100 other young people with a range of expertise from across the Commonwealth nations.
The forum will take place in Fremantle next month and issues identified there will be taken to world leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which will follow.
Other delegates have experience in health care, indigenous advocacy, human rights, the media, politics, business, urban planning and education, among many other fields.
Mr Garrett said it was a great opportunity for young Australians to work with each other to come up with relevant and creative recommendations.