Hi there!

I’m Satara, and I am deeply honoured to serve as Australia’s Youth Representative to the United Nations for 2025.

Welcome to Rep Net, the official blog of the Australian Youth Representative to the UN and UN Youth Australia! Here, you can stay updated on our Listening Tour and share your perspectives on local and global issues. I’ll also be posting monthly blogs to keep you informed about our progress and upcoming initiatives. Together, we’ll create a platform that amplifies your voices, connecting your stories and ideas to the corridors of power and the global stage – through our new platform Rep Net – we aim to amplify youth voices, showcasing their solutions and achievements. From blog posts to social media takeovers, this initiative will spotlight the incredible work of young Australians in their communities.

A bit about me – I’m just a 22 year old student who rates wholesome yaps, live music and falafel. My dislikes (because we’re diplomatic here at the youth rep program) are short jokes (I’m 5 ft), when the democracy sausages run out on election day and cars that unnecessarily “vroom”. A fun fact about me is that I got my Learners plates 826 days late so my friends threw a party outside Service NSW and in my spare time, I like to watch old movies, go on walks and go out dancing.

But I guess more seriously, as a young Australian woman of colour, my story is shaped by the intersection of citizenship, family, race, and religion. Growing up as a young carer for my sister, who lives with a double disability, taught me resilience fuelled my passion for advocating on behalf of marginalised voices.

Over the next year, I’ll have the real privilege of travelling across Australia’s vast expanse, engaging with young people from diverse backgrounds. From bustling urban centres to remote communities, schools to detention facilities, I’ll listen to their stories, perspectives, and solutions.

These insights will then form the backbone of my address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where I will proudly represent the voices of young Australians on a global stage.

Australia is a nation with a diverse fabric of identities, histories and faces. It is my wish that my term as the 2025 Youth Representative reflects the beautiful and multifaceted tapestry of personalities that makes up this country.

The listening tour usually includes a core theme or questions that forms the basis for the tour’s consultations and findings. In 2025 the focus of the tour is this: In the last few years, young Australians from all backgrounds have led the charge, boldly exposing the deep injustices and inequalities embedded in our systems, minds, and policies. How do we meaningfully and effectively respond to this intersectional, diverse chorus of voices?

To foster these conversations, we’ll embrace innovative and inclusive approaches. Drawing inspiration from First Nations Yarning Circles, we’ll create safe spaces for dialogue.

We’ll also prioritise accessibility—whether through translation services, assistive technologies, or other tailored supports. Beyond face-to-face consultations, we’ll invite young people to express themselves creatively, sharing art, films, and other works that encapsulate their ideas and initiatives.

We’ll also be demystifying complex UN frameworks through Q and A’s with diplomats and those working in big international organisations. Essentially we’ll be doing everything in our power to show that it is you – the young people of Australia – who are at the heart of initiatives like the SDGs.

I promise to fiercely advocate for the quietest voices in our community : those who communicate differently, those who feel they are invisible to their leaders, and those who do not see themselves represented in the corridors of power. I commit to collecting and facilitating intersectional, diverse and accessible conversations – with the end goal of shedding more light on inequalities facing youth in Australia, as well as how young people, the very individuals living these realities, propose to solve them.

Thank you for trusting me with your voices, thoughts, and stories. It’s a privilege to take your ideas to the highest levels of government and to world leaders at the United Nations. Your voices deserve to echo across oceans, and I’m committed to ensuring they do.

Let’s make 2025 a year of connection, empowerment, and change. Stay tuned for updates, and I can’t wait to meet you all on this journey!

Warm regards,
Satara Uthayakumaran
Australia’s 2025 Youth Representative to the United Nations