Year 10 Student, Narara High School, NSW

The Every Voice Counts Student Forum was an opportunity for young people in Years 10 and 11 from across Australia to gain an insight into the democratic process. It took place in Canberra from 18–20 October, as a part of Celebrating Democracy Week.

Over the course of three days we visited Old Parliament House, the current Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and the National Museum of Australia. We had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers from a variety of roles, including a political journalist, political advisers and a member of the Muslim Community Reference Group. All the speakers were well informed and managed to convey their ideas to the audience, and I really got a lot out of it. The speaker on Islamic issues was the speaker I enjoyed the most. He was very forthright and honest in his handling of a very difficult topic. I passionately believe it will take every person in the community to work together to create a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The forum gave me the opportunity to get an insight into the politics of Australia and how the machinery of government works. As a Year 10 student and avid lover of history, it helped me gain insight and consolidate my learning from the syllabus. I would encourage anyone with an interest in current affairs, history or politics to apply for this program next year as the benefits are incredible. For NSW students the program directly reflects the syllabus taught in history and geography and for all students it reinforces knowledge of civics and the responsibility of citizenship.

This program gave me the opportunity to have my views heard. It is important in society that everyone has the right to have their views heard, regardless of their age. This is part of a democratic society and a society that I want to be a part of.

Over the three days I learnt more about Australian democracy and how politics actually works. It is important for people approaching voting age to have an understanding of how to vote and not be disengaged from politics. This forum gave me the opportunity to do this. From actively participating in a committee hearing (and recorded in Hansard!) to seeing question time in Parliament House, every activity I participated in was geared towards understanding democracy and how we as young people can help contribute to the future of our society.

On the final day we had the opportunity to act out the role of the Senate Committee when scrutinising a bill, and wrote our own list of recommendations for helping young people to become involved. This was a highlight for me as I got to experience politics first hand!

Democracy is vital to help Australia move confidently into the 21st century, and I feel that sometimes we are all guilty of taking it for granted. This forum reinforced how lucky we truly are. I can also say now I have friends in every State of Australia.