Hussainpoor said the traineeship it is a significant step towards giving voices to underrepresented communities.
“I know how it feels to be voiceless and alienated but change is emerging, and it will start with opportunities like this, for women like me," Hussainpoor said.
“Once I started studying journalism, I said to myself ‘one day, I will change the perception of people wearing a hijab’.
“It’s time the Australian media represented its true colours and that is multiculturalism.”
One in four of Australia’s 25 million people were born overseas, 46% have at least one parent who was born overseas and nearly 20% speak a language other than English at home.
Yet a report titled ‘Who gets to tell Australian stories?’ found that over a two week period in 2020, 75% of presenters, reporters and commentators were of Anglo-Celtic background, while only 6% were either Indigenous or non-European.
Managing Editor of Asia Pacific, ABC News, Matt O’Sullivan said this pilot program is a crucial part of the ABC’s commitment to ensure cultural and social diversity in both our workforce, and in the stories we tell.
“By supporting young journalists from a range of backgrounds we can better reflect our community as it is, and be more relevant to more Australians,” O’Sullivan said.
“I’m hugely excited about the potential of the young journalists we have seen so far and know they will bring new perspectives and ideas to the ABC’s Asia Pacific Newsroom, which is already an incredibly diverse workplace, and can only be enriched further through this program.”
Saudie began his traineeship at the start of February and said he is ecstatic about the opportunity.
“I've always wanted to tell diverse stories reflective of our multicultural society and our neighbouring countries,” Saudie said.
“As someone wanting to become a foreign correspondent one day, I hope this opportunity will provide me with some excellent grounding.”
