Garang Kuer Bul is a Youth Engagement Officer at the Mura Lanyon Youth and Community Centre whose work has already made a deep impact on the communities he is involved in, creating spaces where inclusion, identity, and empowerment thrive.
Drawing from his lived experience, Garang combines cultural insight, relational leadership, high energy, and enthusiasm in his sessions, encouraging young people to bring out their entire selves. He is particularly attentive to the barriers that culturally and linguistically diverse youth face and makes a concerted effort to uplifting them in his work.
In his youth work, his preeminent achievement is the Y Basketball program, which helps reduce school absenteeism while building young people’s relationships and physical health. In 2025, he launched Connect 2 Canberra, helping multicultural youth explore the city through excursions and activities to improve civic awareness and belonging. Garang also assists with the YWCA Canberra Clubhouse, a free out of school learning space that engages young people in STEAMM based learning. Here, he introduced discussion roundtables where participants learn how to debate, build their confidence, and develop their soft skills. In his own practice, he is committed to professional development and learning.
Outside of his professional youth work career, Garang is deeply involved in the South Sudanese Community and his spiritual community. He is the chair, founder and head coach of Canberra Eagles Sports Association which works to engage young people and their families in community programs based through basketball. He has founded various other youth programs and has a long track record of community volunteering. In 2011, he received the Personal Achievement Award in the Young Canberra Citizen of the Year ceremony, and in 2012 he was highly commended for his individual community services.
Though having only worked in the ACT youth sector for one year, Garang is already an inspiration in his workplace. He continually demonstrates the profoundly positive influence youth workers can make in the lives of young people.
