This year, we have four students – Lachlan, Cyrus, Zia and Ruby from the Australian Science & Mathematics School (ASMS) who have all won places in the Youth Parliament program for 2022.
A special thank you to the City of Mitcham, the Marion Council and the Port Noarlunga Lions Club who have all generously sponsored our students in this program.
We have asked these young people to share more about the program, what they hope to learn from this opportunity and what has been the most rewarding experience so far.
What do you hope to learn from this opportunity and what was the most rewarding experience so far?
Zia: From this opportunity, I hope to gain knowledge on the legal and government system in Australia and build the collaborative and communicative skills to work in a group to make a difference to my community. It’s great to see voices of young people being heard, especially in issues that are being faced state-wide. I’ve also made lots of friends from various backgrounds and schools – it’s great to see everyone form academic and personal bonds with each other.
Lachlan: The main thing I hope to learn is how to write a bill and what goes into a bill and how it gets passed through parliament. The most rewarding experience is learning how to write a bill and collaborating with new people on the bill.
Ruby: As a learning opportunity I have and hope to learn and develop skills in leadership and public speaker. By doing Youth Parliament and Debating in Parliament House during residential week, will provide a multitude of learning opportunities. The most interesting thing that has happened through Youth Parliament has been the creation of the bill, using different opinions and sources, interviews and youth to develop a bill for the youth of South Australia.
Cyrus: Personally, I’m excited about getting to talk about political issues in a public context, I’ve personally been very active in opportunities both within and outside of ASMS, so being able to apply that knowledge and debate other people interested in these matters is incredibly interesting. So far, even our training weekend had us travelling all over the AHMS building, hearing from politicians and getting to be involved in collaborative activities, I’m very eager to actually get to debate in parliament next month.
