Australia’s “best jobs in the world” gets half a mil entries; Afghan Indian Moska Najib in the running
Tourism Australia's 'Best Jobs in the World' competition is part of a major international marketing push to promote tourism opportunities provided by Australia's Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program. There were six job categories - outback adventurer, taste master, lifestyle photographer, chief funster, park ranger and wildlife caretaker and the applications closed on 10th April for which they got 600,000+ entries.
And one amongst the 150 shortlisted applicants is 29-year-old, Moska Najib. An Afghan living in India for the last 20 years, Moska is still in the running from over 600,000 entries from across 196 countries.Tourism officials had to watch more than 45,000 videos this month to narrow down the applications to 25 finalists in each of the categories. Ms Najib was selected in the category of lifestyle photographer. Currently, Ms. Najib is competing against 24 other professionals to be selected as one of the top 3 contenders.
Moska Najib, who is a producer and an aspiring photographer, says, “This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs like me. Such openings allow independent artists and creators to showcase their work on a bigger platform and attract an audience.”
Now the onus lies on the participants to make themselves heard and Moska has been successful in doing that with her 30-second video which has garnered more than 15,000 views (Facebook Page).
The jobs were announced by Tourism Australia earlier this year as part of a $4 million youth tourism campaign. They were created following the success of a 2009 initiative by authorities in Queensland seeking an “island caretaker” on the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. The post widely referred to as “The Best Job in the World” attracted 35,000 and was won by Briton Ben Southall. This year, the winning applicants will have a six-month salary worth AUS $100,000, including living costs. And Moska is banking on her facebook page to get her to the next round.
All 150 short-listed videos can be viewed here