Page 1289 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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At the Youth Coalition’s Just Sayin’ forum, held here in the Assembly, I was joined by Minister Berry, Minister Rattenbury, Mr Wall and Ms Lawder and listened directly to a number of young people talk in front of a packed audience about what is important to them. It was insightful to hear what these articulate young people had to contribute to the topics of gender equality, improving services for young people, making Canberra a healthier place to live and our attitude to and treatment of refugees. These important matters aside, I think the issue of banning homework was the most popular idea, certainly among the young people!
There were many highlights for me during the recent National Youth Week in the ACT, including: a tour of the National Zoo and Aquarium for participants of the St Vincent de Paul young parents program; a youth pop-up in Woden town square featuring drumming, creative kicks and badge making; and a youth urban art exhibition featuring art creations from discarded junk by participants of Tuggeranong Art Centre’s messengers program. The exhibition raised environmental awareness by encouraging up-cycling of items that would normally be thrown away. Each of these events represents a way that young people have made their voices heard during National Youth Week, but the challenge for our community is to step up and ensure that this is not just a once a year exercise.
This government values social inclusion, and it is important to include children and young people in the decisions that affect them now and that affect this community into the future. In the ACT we have a range of ways in which young people can have their say on issues that are important to them. For example, the ACT government invites young people to have a voice in decision-making through the Youth Advisory Council. This is just one of many examples of how the ACT government hears the voices of our leaders of tomorrow. The Youth Advisory Council not only provides me with valuable advice related to young people but also supports the development of young people as leaders. The council’s 15 members are aged between 12 and 25 years and are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds that represent our broader community, including a gender balance, young people with disabilities and representation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally linguistically and diverse backgrounds.
Members of the Youth Advisory Council attended National Youth Week events to talk and listen to what young people had to say about the future of our city. One of the current key focus areas for the council is gender diversity. At the expo the Youth Advisory Council members surveyed young people on this issue, and I am looking forward to seeing the results of that.
Canberra has a dynamic population of young people, hailing from more than 170 culturally diverse communities and boasting a vast spectrum of skills and abilities. We have sporting stars, cooks, musicians, budding academics, tradies, teachers and artists, among others, all set to make their mark on the capital. Being a young person in Canberra does have its challenges, but there are many opportunities and resources available to assist young people to fully participate and make our city a more vibrant and diverse community.
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