A maggot farmer, a rapper, a human rights campaigner and a doctor have been named winners in the 2023 ACT Australian of the Year Awards.
Recipients were announced on Wednesday during a ceremony at the National Gallery of Australia. Sitting around white tablecloths and taking celebratory sips of champagne, some of Canberra's most inspirational residents put their feet up - if only for a short while.
ACT Australian of the Year winner Olympia Yarger was unable to attend the ceremony but spoke to The Canberra Times from a hotel in London.
Despite it being 4am in England at the time, she was still up, sitting in her room and considering what lay ahead for the next 12-months.
The only recipient with a fly named after her, Ms Yarger is a climate action warrior and founder of agritech start-up Goterra. She has pioneered a system that uses maggots to process food waste and reduce greenhouse gases.
"I'm excited by the opportunity to take this platform and create awareness about what it takes to be a woman in a start up, what it's like being a female founder. Also the work of Goterra, what we do, why it matters and the importance of climate change mitigation," she said.
"It feels like an insurmountable privilege. The biggest thing for me will be to make sure that I'm speaking about those two issues. Climate impact, women in tech and women start-ups, and finding ways to shed light on the opportunities, the challenges and lifting up the stories of those who are doing hard work."
ACT Young Australian of the Year, four-time Aria winner, Kofi Owusu-Ansahis is a Ghanaian-Australian poet, songwriter and rapper. Known as Genesis Owusu, he uses hip-hop music to highlight issues such as racism and depression.
"I was just expressing my personal story [through music], it's become a vehicle for me to pioneer a change of culture. The things that I experienced were not so great and other generations don't have to experience the same thing," he said.
"I was thrust into the role of the 'other' from a young age, I learnt how to make that into a positive badge of honour. I wear that throughout everything I do, the way I dress, the way I speak. I try and be wholeheartedly myself, and I think that notion has spread and has allowed for younger generations to take on that initiative."
ACT Senior Australian of the Year Professor Tom Calma is one of Australia's most respected human rights and social justice campaigners. The Kungarakan Elder has worked for more than 45 years championing the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The 68-year-old has co-led the design of a Voice to Parliament.
"One of the big challenges we as a nation have is to look at the referendum to recognise a voice for Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian constitution. This will be another opportunity, with exposure as Senior Australian of the Year, to be able to reach a few more people and to get people on board," he said.
Originally from Bangladesh, ACT Local Hero Dr Shamaruh Mirza co-founded SiTara's Story to give women of diverse backgrounds a safe space to discuss stigmatised topics.
"Here in Canberra we still suffer from so much stigma in our communities, and this [is] an obstacle in the journey of our empowerment. I think all of us do share a similar history," she said.
"We have so many things to do in Canberra, not just because we are from the same culture or community, but because we're all humans."
The four winners will join other state and territory recipients as finalists for the national awards announcement on January 25, 2023 in Canberra.
ACM, publisher of this newspaper, is Media Partner of the 2023 Australian of the Year Awards.
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