Youth of SA Have your Say Forum - 13 September 2010

On Monday 13 September, 70 students from 19 schools attended the second and final YEC forum for the year hosted by YEC school Blackforest Primary School. Once again, students ventured from as far as Kangaroo Island, the South East and the Riverland to attend the youth forum.

The aim of this forum was to provide YEC students with the opportunity to have their say about environmental issues around the state and have their voices heard by the South Australia decision-makers.

Kelly McKenzie, former YEC member was the MC and introduced guest speakers Amy Ralfs and Joel Dignam. Amy Ralfs, a former YEC President who currently works for the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Amy’s speech was titled ‘the future is in your hands’ and included her experiences from her YEC days as well as her achievements since leaving the YEC. Amy shared how the YEC had helped her to determine her career path within the environmental field as well as working with young people to ‘give back’ to a process she found valuable whilst being a member.

Guest speaker Joel Dignam, is currently the State Co-ordinator for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) which actively encourages young people to take action against climate change, providing forums and conferences spaces for young people to come together to help create change. Joel shared his passion with YEC students and encouraged that anyone can help to make a difference and create change within their local community if they put their minds to it.

Joel's speech was followed by the YEC school groups sharing their environmental action project achievements.

All students later moved into a future visioning exercise, whereby they had to draw, or sketch their sustainable future as they saw it. These were recorded on sheets of paper that were collected by the YEC steering committee and these will be presented to the Minister/Premier by elected representatives of the YEC.

After the visioning exercise the Premier’s Climate Change Council ran and activity with students focusing on the following themes of Biodiversity, Water, Energy, Waste and Climate Change. Students chose a theme area they were passionate or concerned about to provide feedback. Each group looked at the following:
•         What are the issues (problems) surrounding the theme?
•         How do they affect you?
•         What are you doing in your home or school to deal with the theme?
•         What would you like to see the State Government do in these theme areas?

Student feedback was collated and will be passed on to the Premier’s Climate Change Council who will pass on to the Premier along with a letter of commendation from the Council.

A group of representatives was elected by the greater YEC group. These representatives will represent the whole YEC and include students from KI, the Riverland, the Adelaide Hills and Plains as well as the South East. These students present their visions and feedback generated by the Have Your Say activity run by the Premier’s Climate Change Council, to the Premier/Minister at a date to be determined.

At the end of the day students were provided with an evaluation form which required feedback from the whole year of YEC activities, see below for evaluation results. Students were presented with certificates as well as a YEC sandwich wrap and lunch bag – a sustainable option for wrapping lunchtime treats.