Teen Parliament 2023: Future leaders granted opportunity to appear in parliament
The Advertiser is inviting all bright teen trailblazers to gather their plan for a better future for South Australia.
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Budding South Australian leaders are encouraged to submit their big idea to build a better future for the state in order to retain our best and brightest young talent.
■ Head here to watch The Advertiser Teen Parliament from 9.30am-12.30pm on Thursday, February 16
The Advertiser is again running Teen Parliament in 2023 following last year’s successful event, which saw passionate students share their bold ideas to shape the state.
Students from years 10, 11 and 12 are encouraged to enter and bring their vision for the future of the state.
Students who are selected to take part in the February 16 session at Parliament House will be in the running for one of five $10,000 scholarships to put towards their future studies.
Last year’s scholarship recipients India Ciura, Mobin Achakzai and Adrian Niculescu have continued to make their mark following the event.
They now hope to inspire this year’s new crop of future trailblazers.
Impassioned mental health campaigner India, 18, from Port Lincoln, has made it her goal to improve mental health awareness in her community after petitioning for increased access to services at Teen Parliament.
“I talked to local people about changing the way we view mental health,” she said.
India has since created posters which hang in three different schools in Port Lincoln to educate her community about mental health issues.
She has used her scholarship to help with the cost of accommodation to study psychological science at the University of Adelaide.
“Without the scholarship I thought I was going to have a gap year to save up but now I can go straight into uni which is very appreciated.”
India’s advice to the next cohort of Teen Parliament members is to be open.
“Take as much out of it as you can and listen to other people’s ideas.”
Since Afghan refugee Mobin Achakzai’s appearance at the event, where he highlighted the need to assist homeless people, he has pursued his education goals.
“The scholarship helped me a lot towards the end of the year when our final exams were coming up, I did three different tuition courses,” Mobin, 17, from Windsor Gardens said.
A high ATAR allowed him to gain entry into a biomedical engineering degree at the University of Adelaide, which he hopes to use to develop prosthetics for amputees.
But Mobin faces an uphill battle with the cost of his university degree.
“We (refugees) have no real security and can only enrol in universities as international students, where the fees are out of the question.”
He hopes refugees will have better access to tertiary education.
“We can only hope that the Albanese government provides pathways to permanent VISAs so we can chase our dreams of pursuing tertiary education.”
His advice to the latest crop of up and coming Teen Parliamentarians is to think about others.
“Try and think about how you can improve the lives of other people,” he said.
Politically minded Sacred Heart College student Adrian Niculescu, 16, from Grange, has been able to engage more with his passion for policy since his appearance at the event.
Adrian, who proposed at last year’s Teen Parliament for an abolishment of payroll tax, has since joined the Liberal Party.
“For me economic prosperity is the most important thing to building a strong society,” Adrian said.
“I’ll continue to pursue this in my career, possibly, as a politician.”
He has also been rising through the ranks as an army cadet.
“I’ve been able to gain leadership and mentoring skills which are extremely valuable for my future career,” Adrian said.
After high school he hopes to study law before a career in politics.
His scholarship went towards his school fees for the year.
Speaker Dan Cregan is again supporting the initiative and will guide the parliamentary session.
He said the ideas of young South Australians were critical to our state’s future and praised the “outstanding program”.
“Many parliamentarians were inspired by the young people who attended the inaugural teen parliament last year and we are thrilled to be welcoming another group of students into parliament,” he said.
Sponsors of this year’s scholarships, presented in partnership with the Advertiser Foundation, are Elders, UniSA, Walker Corporation and the Adelaide Economic Development Agency.
Head of the Advertiser Foundation Dan Demaria said: “The Advertiser Foundation is pleased to once again partner with Teen Parliament to help give the future of South Australia a voice.
“The sponsorship grants that the Foundation will award will help these recipients realise their potential.”
Elders chief executive Mark Allison said: “We are delighted to be supporting The Advertiser Foundation’s Teen Parliament and providing a scholarship to support our next generations to share their big ideas and drive innovation to improve outcomes for our communities.”
Walker Corporation chief executive David Gallant said: “We might uncover a future premier from the lucky group who will be short-listed for this year’s Teen Parliament program.”
A UniSA spokeswoman said: “This is an investment in the future for all South Australians, and UniSA is pleased to be able to support our new generation of leaders to join the conversation.”
RAA’s general manager of community and corporate affairs Emily Perry said: “This generation will be leading the charge on some of the biggest challenges of our time, like climate change, the cost of living and helping to create a modern, diverse and inclusive Australia.”
Indigenous voices to be heard
A strong contingent of Indigenous students will make their voices heard on issues to improve the state at parliament next month.
Among the bright minds at the February Teen Parliament event will be a group of students from the Tjindu Foundation, which supports Indigenous youths, representing the pressing issues in their communities.
The significant Indigenous representation at Teen Parliament comes as Aboriginal Affairs Minister and Attorney-General Kyam Maher has pledged to have the state’s Voice operational by the end of this year.
An Indigenous Voice is also being discussed on a federal level.
Students Tayah Coulthard-Todd, Mackayla Harrison and Jackson Coaby will be present at the event to discuss issues facing Indigenous youth and awareness in wider society.
The passionate students are active in supporting various causes including changing the date of Australia Day as they marched in Victoria Square on January 26.
Student Mackayla, 17, from South Plympton, will raise the issue of education for Indigenous people at Teen Parliament.
“We need to find ways we can get people interested in education as many friends and family haven’t been given the opportunity to go to school,” she said.
Impassioned student Tayah said she would campaign for more detailed mandatory Indigenous history classes in schools.
“I want more people to learn more about Aboriginal history in school,” Tayah, 16, from Glandore, said.
“I want that to become compulsory so people can know the history of us.”
Jackson, 15, from Salisbury East, is hoping the event will give a spotlight to Indigenous people.
“What we do as Aboriginal people needs to be shared around more out in communities and school, not just to us Indigenous people but to everybody.”
He highlighted the need to support Indigenous and Torres Straight Islander youth.
“It’s important to have a youth place where you can take Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people to help them with addictions or violence.”
Tjindu Foundation general manager Kellie Graves said the voice at Teen Parliament is paramount to Indigenous people.
“As a First Nations person I would like a say on matters that affect me, my children and my communities at the highest level and believe strongly at instilling that same virtue into the young people that are a part of Tjindu,” Ms Graves said.
RAA general manager of community & corporate affairs, Emily Perry, whose organisation is partnered with the Tjindu Foundation, has been eager to hear the students’ ideas.
“We can’t wait to hear from this year’s cohort in the Teen Parliament and see these fabulous young Aboriginal people express their voice to parliament – hopefully, it’s just the beginning,” Ms Perry said.
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