Alan Wu was the 2008 recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission's Young People's Human Rights Commendation. Wu's term as Chair of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition is the national peak body for youth affairs in Australia, representing young people and the services that work with them....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's national youth affairs peak body, saw the organisation successfully lobby for the re-establishment of the Australian Minister for Youth position, and, for the first time in over a decade, new federal government funding for the organisation. Elected when he was 21 years old, Wu was the youngest person ever to hold the position, and remains the longest-serving.

In addition to this role, Wu has also held a number of other Australian and international positions, with a focus on representing young people and their interests, advocating and developing mechanisms for youth participation, and building the capacity of young people to better participate in their communities.

Wu has previously served as on the Australian National Commission for UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 Advisory Council, and as the youngest Director of the International Young Professionals Foundation, the Australian Republican Movement

Australian Republican Movement

The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...

, and Oxfam Australia

Oxfam Australia

Oxfam Australia is an Australian, independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organisation, and an affiliate of Oxfam International. Oxfam Australia's work includes long-term development projects, responding to emergencies and campaigning to improve the lives of...

. He was previously the Representative for Asia & the Pacific on the United Nations Environment Programme

United Nations Environment Programme

The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...

 (UNEP) Youth Advisory Council and Special Envoy for Young People to the UNEP Executive Director, and has held positions with the Australian National Youth Week National Planning Group and the Australian National Youth Roundtable.

In 2006, in recognition of his work, Wu received the Australia Day

Australia Day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

 Brisbane Lord Mayor's Young Citizen of the Year award. In late 2007, Wu was a finalist in the 2008 Young Australian of the Year Awards, and in 2008 he was amongst the youngest invitees to the Prime Minister's Australia 2020 Summit

Australia 2020 Summit

The Australia 2020 Summit was a convention, referred to in Australian media as a summit, which was held on 19-20 April 2008 in Canberra, Australia, aiming to "help shape a long term strategy for the nation's future"...

.

SNoG Election Scandal

In early 2011, an email from Wu was leaked to Crikey. The email, which Wu had sent to his graduate group, discussed Wu and his Attorney Generals department graduates attempt to rig elections via a joint ticket arrangement involving other public service departments for an upcoming Social Network of Graduates (SNoG) 2011 executive committee. In the email which quickly circulated around Australian government departments, Wu indicated "I think I’ve managed to reserve the President position for one of us, in exchange for us voting various people of other departments to lesser positions (where they belong!)". Wu ceased his campaign for a seat on the SNOG executive committee as a result of the leak.