Your story is your power, use it boldly!
Abraham Kuol is a respected youth leader and the 2026 Young Australian of the Year for Victoria, recognised for his contribution to community safety, youth empowerment, and social change. He is also a 2025 Westpac Social Change Fellow, acknowledged nationally for his leadership and community impact.
Abraham uses his deep knowledge of Victoria’s police and justice systems to support and guide young people in his community. Day to day, he mentors young people, runs sports-based programs, and strengthens community connections — all while completing a PhD in Criminology at Deakin University, where his research is informing real-world policy and practice.
Recognising the power of sport in engaging youth, Abraham co-founded the Black Rhinos, a soccer and basketball club that provides mentoring and positive pathways for at-risk young people. He is also a director at Sandown Lions Football Club, creating sporting and leadership opportunities for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
Abraham has helped secure more than $3.5 million in funding for programs supporting African-Australian families, justice-involved youth, and community-led interventions.
A trusted media commentator, Abraham is regularly featured across major outlets including ABC, SBS, 9News and 7News, where he provides balanced, evidence-based insights on youth justice, belonging, and community safety.
A humble but compelling leader, Abraham is also a sought-after public speaker known for his ability to inspire genuine social change through authenticity, insight, and lived experience.
Talking Points
The Power of Story: How Identity Shapes Opportunity, Resilience, and Success
A deeply personal, inspiring keynote on the importance of identity, belonging, and storytelling in unlocking human potential. Abraham takes audiences on a journey from refugee migration and settlement to community leadership and national recognition as Young Australian of the Year (VIC). He shows how owning your story, and using it boldly, can transform confidence, opportunity, and leadership. Perfect for youth audiences, corporate teams, and community events.
The Power of Story: How Identity Shapes Opportunity, Resilience, and Success
Leading With Integrity: Building Trust, Culture & Connection in Modern Australia
An uplifting leadership keynote centered on courage, authenticity, and purpose. Abraham shares lessons from mentoring young people, running sports-based programs, studying leadership through his Westpac Fellowship, and navigating national recognition. Perfect for leaders seeking to build strong cultures, improve team cohesion, and inspire people through authenticity rather than authority.
Leading With Integrity: Building Trust, Culture & Connection in Modern Australia
From Lived Experience to Leadership: Reimagining Youth Justice in Australia
Drawing from his research, community work, and national media commentary, Abraham challenges the myths surrounding youth crime and offers a real-world, evidence-based view of what works, and what doesn’t. This keynote highlights the power of prevention, early intervention, and culturally informed support. It equips leaders, educators, and policymakers with new ways of thinking about young people, harm, accountability, and pathways to change.
From Lived Experience to Leadership: Reimagining Youth Justice in Australia
Sport, Mentoring & Hope: Transforming Young Lives Through Positive Pathways
Sport is more than a game, it is a pathway to belonging, resilience, and transformation. In this keynote, Abraham explores how sport-based programs create protective environments for young people, strengthen communities, and reduce pathways to offending. Drawing on his experience working with migrant and refugee communities, he shows how structured mentoring, teamwork, and positive identity-building through sport can change lives and open new opportunities.
Sport, Mentoring & Hope: Transforming Young Lives Through Positive Pathways
Community Solutions Work: What Government, Organisations & Leaders Can Learn from Grassroots Innovation
Community-led solutions are often more trusted, more relevant, and more sustainable than traditional top-down approaches. In this keynote, Abraham explores how grassroots initiatives strengthen connection, build belonging, and create real pathways for change. Through stories from his work across youth programs, community organisations, and justice-focused projects, he shows how authentic partnership with communities can reshape systems and improve outcomes.Community Solutions Work: What Government, Organisations & Leaders Can Learn from Grassroots Innovation
This keynote is ideal for leaders in government, education, social services, and organisations seeking to build meaningful, culturally-informed collaborations.
Video
Meet your Australians - 2026 VIC Young Australian of the Yeah Abraham Kuol
Abraham Kuol is a respected youth leader who uses his knowledge of the police and justice system in Victoria to help young people in his community. Day to day, Abraham devotes his time to mentoring and guiding young people, running sports programs and building community ties – all while studying for a PhD in Criminology at Deakin University where his research is having a real-world impact. Recognising the important role that sport plays in engaging young people, Abraham co-founded the Black Rhinos, a soccer and basketball club to help mentor at-risk youth. He is also a director at Sandown Lions Football Club, where he creates sporting pathways for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Abraham has helped raise over $3.5 million for programs to support African-Australian families and justice-involved youth. A quiet achiever, Abraham is nevertheless a popular public speaker, acknowledged for his ability to inspire genuine social change.Dare to Dream – Abraham Kuol
Abraham Kuol is an Associate Research Fellow and PhD Candidate at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. His research explores the post settlement challenges of African Australians with a focus on justice system contact. Abraham Kuol shares his inspirational story of how he came to study graduate research at Deakin and how he hopes his story will inspire others in his community to dare to dream.Abraham's message was ideal for us as a local person whose story resonates for many of our students who are African Australian, refugees, migrants or children of migrants. They heard a messa ... keep reading St Peter's College
