Griffith University Master of Global Development student Hayley Payne has been selected as a 2022 Global Voices Scholar.
Alongside seven other inspiring young Australians, she will now attend and complete a policy fellowship related to the themes of the World Health Assembly (WHA), set for May in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHA is the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“I am incredibly interested in the intersection between climate change and public health,” an excited Hayley explained.
“I work in disaster management for the Australian Red Cross and I’m studying at Griffith, completing a Master of Global Development majoring in disaster management and climate change.”
Hayley’s winning policy proposal was informed by her disaster management experience at Australian Red Cross and her concerns about climate change. She is passionate about equity and participatory engagement.
“I’m just so excited to network with some incredible people from across different sectors and really immerse myself into that space and hopefully gain a lot of new knowledge and new connections as well,” she said of her scholarship opportunity.
“We are really excited with the calibre of Scholars for the programand are particularly excited by their propensity to take learnings from their participation in the program and apply them within their broader communities,” Global Voices’ Chief Executive OfficerMary Negasaid.
“It is integral that young people have aseatat the table,includingon theinternationalstage. This is made even more important given thecontinuedimpact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people, includingbut not limited to the negative implications onearning capacity, mental health,education and employment outcomes.”
The future looks bright for Hayley, who expects to graduate from Griffith this year after completing her Masters part-time alongside work commitments.
“I started with Red Cross as an employee this year, I’ve been a volunteer with them for over three years now and got very lucky to find a job in the international response team,” she said.
“I’d love to see myself to staying within the organisation and learning more.
“I see myself working on community centered projects with really inclusive and participatory focuses. I’m just incredibly passionate about people first initiatives.”