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A 20-year-old Arts/Law student from The University of Western Australia, Thomas Williams of Morley, has been selected as Australia's sole representative at the 2010 Nkabom Commonwealth Youth Leadership Program to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in September.

Thomas, who is undertaking a major in Chinese and will fly to China soon to take up a scholarship, is an ardent youth activist. Beating stiff competition from more than 500 other international applicants aged from 18 to 25, he has emerged as Australia's sole representative in a 35-strong group comprising 28 nationalities.

The Nkabom Program is a flagship project of the Royal Commonwealth Society, the oldest and largest NGO devoted to Commonwealth affairs. The word Nkabom (pronounced ink-a-bom) means 'coming together' in parts of Ghana where the program was first held in 2004.

The interactive 10 day program will focus on international understanding, peace building and conflict resolution skills. Rwanda, the Commonwealth's newest member state and where the average age is 18 years, is an ideal setting for an initiative that propagates the potential of young people to be agents of peace and development.

"I am delighted to have been offered a place on the program, especially given its youth focus. We, the youth, are hopeful, inquisitive about the world. We are the most international generation alive. And we have the greatest vested interest in the future," Thomas said.

Thomas works as a part-time legal research clerk. He is Youth Premier for this year's Western Australian Youth Parliament and was previously, Youth Health Minister. He is also a facilitator and participant at the Western Australian Youth CHOGM and at the Commonwealth Day Youth Rally. He is President of the UWA Mooting Club and the UWA Creative Thinking and Memory Club; and head of a task force working with both the UWA and Western Australian Government Departments to organise university student volunteering in rural Australia.

Media references

Thomas Williams (+61 4) 19 235 560

Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8) 6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

RCS Youth Programs Manager, Claire Anholt (+44) 20 7766 9202