Mr Hugh Evans (BSc 2008, LLB(Hons) 2008)

Distinguished Young Alumni Award 2009

Mr Hugh Evans is a social movements campaigner and the 2004 Young Australian of the Year.

Professor Arie Freiberg (LLM 1984), who nominated Mr Evans, notes that “in addition to his significant community contribution, Hugh was amongst the top 25 graduating students from the [Law] faculty”.

“Hugh’s passion and commitment to human rights began when he was 14 and travelled to the Philippines as an ambassador for World Vision. After completing high school in 2001, Hugh deferred University becoming World Vision’s inaugural Youth Ambassador travelling to South Africa.”

Mr Evans is currently Director of The Global Poverty Project working to help achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to end extreme poverty by 2015.

In 2001, Mr Evans founded the Oaktree Foundation, Australia's first youth-run aid organisation with a mission to empower young people in the developing world through education. He was Co-chair of the inaugural Youth 2020 Summit in Canberra, and one of the key leaders behind the successful Australian ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign.

In supporting Mr Evans’s nomination, Associate Professor Cristina Varsavsky (GradCertHE 2001) says she is “struck by his obvious determination, passion and positive nature.” She writes: “At such a young age Hugh has made a remarkable impact as a humanitarian, and the effects of his work have had far reaching effects across the world.”

Mr Evans is currently pursuing a Masters in International Relations at the University of Cambridge. This has been supported by the Sir John Monash Award and a scholarship from the British Council.

Download the video presentation about Mr Evans:
- Windows Media Video (WMV) (2.02 minutes duration, 6.0mb)
- Quicktime Video (MPEG-4) (2.02 minutes duration, 5.9mb)
- Text version

Photo credits

Concert and campaign photos with thanks to Make Poverty History.