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GRAEME INNES: Hello and welcome to Pod Rights or, in this case, 'Vod Rights',
a series of podcasts from the Australian Human Rights Commission.
I'm Graeme Innes, the Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner.
I have two guests with me today.
First is star of 'High School Musical', 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody' and, more recently,
the online talkshow 'Gimme Mo', Disney actress and youth activist Monique Coleman.
Monique has been appointed UN Youth Champion and is here in Australia in that role.
So welcome back to Australia, Monique, and it's great to have you here at the Commission.
MONIQUE COLEMAN: Thank you so much.
It's my pleasure to be here.
GRAEME INNES: Also joining me, because she'll be much better
at asking Monique questions in a way that young people would understand,
is Samah Hadid, and Samah is the 2010 Australia Youth Representative to the UN.
So welcome, Samah, and what an awesome responsibility that you've had
over the last 12 months or so.
SAMAH HADID: Thank you for having me.
GRAEME INNES: So take it away, Samah, please.
SAMAH HADID: Well, Monique, let us know what it is that makes you so passionate about working
with young people?
Why do you want to raise their concerns and contributions?
MONIQUE COLEMAN: I believe that young people truly when there's that sort of prime age, kind
of tween and teenage years where you have so much energy and these huge ideals and dreams
about the world and you haven't yet been altered, and I think that when you can go in at that time
and really help young people feel good about themselves and know that the ideas that
they have are valid and support them and help them to bring them to fruition, you actually avoid a lot
of problems in the future.
But when you rob a young person of their dreams and you don't give them ample
opportunity to have a voice or to contribute to their community and their society, it's almost
like you slowly start extinguishing the light that they have within them and it's very challenging
in the future to get that back.
SAMAH HADID: And tell us about your own background,
your acting background, and what it was that inspired you
to actually contribute to this work.
MONIQUE COLEMAN: Acting was a great outlet for me, as far as a place to put my energy.
I really encourage young people to find a passion, whether it be sports or dance or something artistic
or whatever it is, but a place to put that energy because I think I was
a person who could have gone either way.
I could have been a little destructive and crazy, or artistic and passionate.
So acting led me to Chicago.
I'm from South Carolina, which is where I studied at university, graduated with a degree, a BFA,
and then moved to Los Angeles, slept on floors, and really I had about 18 jobs I think
the last time I counted before I really fell into 'High School Musical'.
And 'High School Musical' changed my life really.
It gave me financial security but also gave me a platform and reached millions
and millions of people.
And when it was over, I kind of found myself in a place where I just
I didn't know why I was so kind of chasing the same dream.
I was so lucky and blessed to have had this great role but I was older than
the rest of the cast and there was nothing really else that was moving me, and I just kind of took a break.
I let go of my publicist.
I stopped doing events and just sort of went inside, and what I found inside was that there was
a lot more that I could contribute if I would allow myself to evolve,
so that's when 'Gimme Mo' came to me.
GRAEME INNES: And with that bullying and cyber bullying, you've done a bit of that
on 'Gimme Mo', haven't you?
Can you tell us about that?
MONIQUE COLEMAN: Yes, I approached bullying from a little bit
of a different perspective.
I went and hung out with some Jujitsu people and they have a program called Bully Proof.
It was actually about confidence and it was about how confidence is the best deterrent
for a bully.
Some of the techniques that they did at this school were simply to instil a sense
of confidence because if you were not afraid of actual bodily harm, you would just be able
to stand up for yourself more.
In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15
to 24 year olds.
I read yesterday that here in Australia it's actually the No.1 cause of death, teen suicide,
which is appalling.
I think when you talk about bullying, cyber bullying and anything related to it,
it's imperative that we not only talk about the issue, the bully and the victim, but we also talk
about coping, and that is an area that I feel is lacking across the board
teaching young people how to have coping skills.
GRAEME INNES: Monique and Samah, thanks very much for having this conversation
with us today.
It's been fantastic to talk about both of your work and hear how you're advancing
the issues that young people are facing.
And thanks for all of you for listening and watching Pod Rights.
Remember that this podcast is for you, so if you have a suggestion of someone
with whom I should talk or a comment on the podcast, please email me
at podrights@humanrights.gov.au or find me and message me on Facebook or Twitter.
And keep your podcatchers ready for the next Pod Rights in the series
because human rights is for everyone, everywhere, every day.
I'm Graeme Innes.
Goodbye for now.