
Yasmine Alwakal has recently completed a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) with a second major in Writing and Publishing at the University of Technology Sydney. Drawing upon her passion for writing, research and public speaking, this degree will provide the ethical and intellectual foundations necessary to start her professional life.
Yasmine has been awarded the Kennedy Foundation’s 2024 Student Journalist and is employed as a Publicity Assistant at DMCPR Media, working to connect vibrant stories with Australian readers. She has experience working within the media and publishing landscapes - at the Australian Publishers Association, as a Publicity Intern at Allen & Unwin, a Communications and Marketing Intern at the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia, Publications Assistant and 2023 Open Book shortlistee. Yasmine’s writing spans across the journalistic, non-fiction and fiction genres, with work award the Best Data Journalism by Journalism Education & Research Association Australia (JERAA), UTS Journalism Society’s Best Interview and Best Photojournalism prizes, featured in Central News and short story ‘Alphard’ published in the 2023 UTS Writers Anthology.
Yasmine aspires to work in the journalistic and publishing industries to frame world issues in a meaningful and relevant way. The opportunity to continue her immersion within the industry would provide an invaluable experience as she seeks to advance her skillset.
About.
News.
Yasmine Alwakal won the Journalism Education & Research Association of Australia’s Ossie Award for Best Data Journalism by an Undergraduate or Postgraduate Student for her story ‘Seeing red: the high cost of menstruating’.
Judge Miguel D’Souza, a journalist and trainer with CrossCheck@RMIT, said Alwakal used “robust data sources, expert insights and personal stories to vividly demonstrate the discrimination women face due to menstruation throughout the health system and society”.
He added: “Its strong use of data engaged and informed the reader with a constructive approach to storytelling. Original infographics displayed good composition and understood the need to stand alone and drive informed sharing and conversation.”
Yasmine was awarded the 2024 Student Journalist of the Year. This award recognises creativity, originality and impactful storytelling for undergraduate Journalism students.
Yasmine says “It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many industry-leading professionals at the Awards ceremony last night. Thank you to the University of Technology Sydney and my many mentors for their guidance and support.”
Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields, Bloomberg’s Ed Johnson, and 2SER station manager Paula Kruger judged the five categories, from dozens of entries submitted by UTS journalism students.
“I was super happy to see so many people turn up in support of each other and support student journalism,” said Journalism Society president Bianca Drummond Costa.
Students Patrick Brischetto and Yasmine Alwakal won two awards each.
Yasmine is currently employed as a Publicity Assistant at DMCPR Media, a boutique communications agency specialising in the publishing and arts sectors.
From liaising with Australian media across print, broadcast, online and television, to confirming interviews with authors, crafting press releases, social media content, writing proposals and planning events - Yasmine’s work is diverse and all-encompassing.
Read about her work and contribution to the team here.
“‘Alphard’ by Yasmine Alwakal is a creative non-fiction piece that left a strong impression on me. An introspective exploration of her Palestinian ancestry, and what it means to be from ‘a land without people and a people without land’, Alwakal does not shy away from speaking about the horrors her family faced during the Nakba.
The struggles of repeated forced migration across generations—to Gaza, to Lebanon, and then to Australia…spoke to a larger theme of Arab-Australian diaspora that feels especially pertinent at this time.”
Yasmine is proud to share that her writing has been published in this year’s UTS Writers’ Anthology, Soak.
”My creative non-fiction short story ‘Alphard’ provides an exploration of my Australian/Palestinian heritage and what it means to belong to a place. This is a story I wrote long these before current conflicts. I never could have predicted that it would be published at time of so much pain and suffering in this part of the world.”
You can pick your copy of Soak via Booktopia or read a review by Writing NSW below:
https://lnkd.in/gWvXERn7
Yasmine Alwakal joined the Australian Publishers Association as an intern to learn more about the industry, and here she shares her background, love of books and hopes for the future:
“I truly adore the experience of reading texts which transform you to another world and challenging myself to articulate the so-often unspeakable experiences of life through creative and investigative writing. This passion has influenced my tertiary studies and second major in Writing and Publishing at UTS. Surrounded by like minded literary lovers at APA, I am quickly discovering the more I learn about this industry, the more eager I become to pursue this as a career.”
Yasmine was shortlisted for the prestigious and highly competitive Open Book Publishing Internship (2023), as promoted on their website:
Yasmine Alwakal is currently studying a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) with a second major in Writing and Publishing at UTS. An avid reader, her writing spans across the non-fiction, fiction and journalistic genres. She has experience working as a Communications and Marketing Intern at the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia, as a Publications Assistant and her work is featured in Central News. This year, her short story; ‘Alphard’ will be published in the UTS Writers Anthology and she looks forward to contributing further to the industry.
Yasmine achieved a 97.50 NSW HSC ATAR, as recognised by the HSC All-round Achievers Award and Distinguished Achievers Award for top band results in 10+ units.
Yasmine Alwakal was interviewed as part of the annual Future Leaders photography exhibition, highlighting leadership and social change in Australia.
As part of the article, Yasmine shares her family history, how she sees the world and what changes she would like to be enacted. She has been described as “articulate, a definite communicator and a future journalist.”
Most people are terrified of public speaking but a student from Our Lady of Mercy College, Yasmine Alwakal, has excelled in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition.
The Year 11 student and Head Girl finished 10th - the best result for an OLMC student - in the international challenge after competing in the grand final last weekend via Zoom.
Due to be held in Shanghai, Yasmine competed against 60 hopefuls from all corner of the globe.