Julie Tran ’09 Portrait: Rikard Isacsson
EMPOWERING FUTURE AFRICAN
POLITICAL LEADERS
In her day job, Julie Tran ’09 is a local councilor for the Swedish Centre Party. But her career took on an international bent when she was invited to work for a program training the next generation of political leaders in French-speaking West Africa.
There are many ways to change the world. In high school, what I wanted to do more than anything was to change the world by working for the UN. Looking back, I could have ended up with any organization that took for its mission improving people’s living standards, working toward peace and creating a better world. What was important to me was finding a platform that enabled me to make a difference. I could have joined an NGO, worked as a civil servant in a municipality or acted as a lobbyist for an environmental organization; in fact, I went into politics. 59
AU P M AGAZ I N E
This year marks my tenth anniversary in politics since graduating from AUP. Today, I am an elected regional councilor in Sweden – though that hasn’t stopped my work taking on an international element. Out of all my political achievements so far, the one that has had the greatest impact on my life is the Program for Young Politicians in Africa (PYPA). It consists of a multiparty political academy that aims to build the capacity of young political leaders, strengthening their participation and influence in politics, so that they too can change the world.
It is PYPA’s international aspects that most inspire me. Since it started in 2012, it has come to be active in 16 countries across Africa. It is a groundbreaking program that responds to the real needs of young people, and in particular young women, who have limited opportunities to influence social development across the continent, largely due to age and gender discrimination and the distribution of power within political parties and across society. I started working with PYPA during my two years on the board of the Swedish Centre
