Surviving a total eclipse of your heart: lessons from a global youth leader

What do you do when there’s an eclipse? Do you prefer to draw the curtains and keep your eyes shut? Or do you grab your special glasses and stare right at it? 

Because life has eclipses too, moments of darkness that feel like forever, and if you aren’t prepared you could go blind. 

I went from seeing my role model, Malala Yousafzai, give a speech at the United Nations’s Girl Up Global Leadership Summit, to becoming the youngest speaker at the same summit as her. My speech on intersectional feminism aired across 100+ countries and reached millions.

But after achieving my dreams overnight, there was a loud ‘what now?’ in my head. It was my first eclipse and I didn’t know what to do with it.

But the thing about darkness is that it's always temporary, and if you don’t have some darkness in your life how could you ever appreciate the light?

You don’t need the perfect timing, the perfect situation or the perfect life to change the world, because that will never come and you will be blinded by your eclipse. 

My journey to this point began with an application to Kode with Klossy, a US based program by the supermodel Karlie Kloss that offers scholarships for a coding-intensive program. Like any other 14-year-old without any experience, I believed I wouldn’t get in, but, unfortunately for some, I did. 

Attending virtually, I would stay up till late at night to learn coding, talk to advisors and even meet incredibly inspiring role models. As part of the program we were required to set a group project. While I was brainstorming with my friends in a different time zone, we realised we wanted our project for this program to be about raising awareness of global issues and they chose me as the leader. 

I fueled my passion for justice with all the sexist comments I’d heard, as well as one of my teacher’s belief that I ‘wouldn’t get too far' (thanks for that).

I’ve stayed true to that mission, to prove that girls, especially young girls, deserve a seat at the table just as much as anyone. But now I’m not fueled by someone else’s opinion of me, I’m fueled by my ambition to change lives. 

I’ve negotiated deals at 5 am on a school morning as the head of operations of a global non-profit, named She’s So Cool, and been in charge of their chapters in eight countries, impacting over 50,000 women through this initiative. 

I’ve done research with NASA and King’s College London, advocated for the education of young girls in Nigeria, written for UNICEF, and given a speech at the United Nations General Assembly as a youth representative. 

At just 16, I was named one of the top nine global girls in Gen-Ê by Être, and that title wasn’t just symbolic, it marked the beginning of a journey that has since reached hundreds of thousands of people across the world. 

Recently I gave a TED-Ed talk in NYC as the sole representative of Australia, and then I went down to Canberra and debated at the Parliament House as part of the National Schools Constitutional Convention (NSCC) program and met many of our federal ministers.

Big moments like winning an award, giving a speech or being on the news all look great, but once it's done you don’t feel much. 

For me, the true impact of my advocacy came after this - when girls from around the world reached out to say I had inspired them to start their own advocacy journeys.

I’ve met youth leaders, CEOs, young entrepreneurs, UN advisors and government ministers who’ve faced their own eclipses in moments of fear, doubt, and failure.

But what sets them apart isn’t avoiding the dark. It’s choosing to learn from it and remembering what you stand for. 

Instead of waiting for the light to return, make a choice. Either shut the curtains and regroup, or put on the glasses and face the moment head-on.

World leaders don’t wait for the perfect timing, so if you wish to be one, then why are you?

By Nysa

Empowering Youth Voices: My Leadership Journey from Chennai to Adelaide

Hi, I'm Tanish. Growing up in Chennai, India, I took on several leadership roles that allowed me to influence positive change and mentor younger students. Serving as the Senior House Prefect (2019-2022), Sports Captain (2018-2021), and Deputy Head Prefect (2022-2023) provided unique platforms to develop my skills in event organizing, time management, and fostering a positive school culture. These roles allowed me to combine my love for sports, leadership, and community building, driving initiatives that promoted teamwork, a healthy lifestyle, and substantial school improvements before I moved to Adelaide in July 2023. 

In Adelaide, I’ve continued my leadership journey with great enthusiasm. Currently, I serve as the Senior House Prefect at my school, leading with a commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. My aspiration to become the Student Head Prefect stems from a desire to drive initiatives that empower student voices and create a collaborative school community. 

I also hold the positions of Mentor Group Representative, Year Level Representative, and Student Representative at my school, where I continue to advocate for my peers and contribute to the school community. 

Recently, I was honoured to receive the Royal Tillet Rotary Award during the student achievement ceremony at my school. This prestigious award is given to individuals who demonstrate excellence in service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership. The award was presented by the President of Rotary Australia and witnessed by Mayor Jill Whittaker OAM of Campbelltown City Council, Hon Vincent Tarzia MP,  leader of the South Australian Liberal Party, along with my school principal, many councillors, and government officials. I also received a cash prize as part of this recognition, and I am deeply grateful for the appreciation shown by everyone present. 

Moreover, I am actively involved in the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC), a platform that enables me to voice student concerns and drive meaningful changes in the educational landscape. One of my proudest achievements has been my election as a Student Ambassador, a role that has provided me with invaluable opportunities to represent my school and community at various events and forums. 

Beyond school, I am an active member of the Youth Advisory Committee of Campbelltown Council, where I contribute to discussions and initiatives aimed at enhancing youth involvement and community well-being. This role excites me because it allows me to advocate for youth perspectives and influence local policy, ensuring that the voices of young people are heard in community decisions. 

My volunteer work with the Youth Crew enables me to engage with and support various community projects and events which has been incredibly rewarding. This role has taught me the importance of community service and the impact of collective efforts in driving positive change. 

My passion for civic engagement and youth advocacy led me to participate in the YMCA South Australia Youth Parliament, where I was honored to serve as the Speaker for the House of Assembly. This role is particularly significant to me as it involves guiding debates and discussions on important issues affecting our society, empowering young people to actively participate in democratic processes. 

Recently, I attended the Social Media Summit at the Adelaide Convention Centre. This experience inspired me to draft and publish a perspective report on the insights gained from the summit, emphasizing the importance of responsible social media use among young people. 

Additionally, I am deeply connected to my cultural roots and enjoy being an active participant in UVAGAI, a club that celebrates South Indian culture through various events, including food, art, music, fashion, and heritage activities. Being a part of this club allows me to share my heritage and connect with others who share similar cultural backgrounds. I am also a member of the South Australia Tamil Students Society, which enables me to connect with other Tamil students and promote our culture within the community. 

In addition to these roles, I have participated in a variety of youth-focused meetings and summits in Adelaide, including the Youth Forum Meeting, YAC Summit Meeting, Teen Summit Meetings, Student Summit Meeting, and the Eastern Secondary Student Leaders Meeting. These opportunities stood out to me because they provided platforms to learn from other young leaders and discuss pressing issues facing our generation. 

My journey is driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence, a passion for leadership, and a deep commitment to making a positive impact in my community. I am truly grateful for the guidance, support, and opportunities that have shaped my path, and I look forward to continuing to serve and uplift those around me. 

As I embark on this exciting chapter in Adelaide, I am driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to making a positive impact on my community. My journey, marked by challenges and triumphs, has instilled in me a strong sense of purpose and a desire to empower others. I am eager to continue my leadership journey, advocating for youth voices and contributing to a brighter future. 

I have learned that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. By empowering young people through education and leadership, we equip them to be active, informed citizens who can shape a better future. True change happens when communities come together to support and uplift each other, fostering collaboration and mutual respect. Leadership is not about holding titles, but about responsibility and the courage to make a difference. Celebrating cultural diversity enriches our lives and strengthens our communities, promoting understanding and unity.   

The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and by advocating for youth involvement and civic engagement, we pave the way for a generation that is ready to innovate and inspire. Together, we can create a future where leadership, empathy, and positive impact are synonymous. Let's continue to promote education, collaboration, and cultural diversity, ensuring every voice is heard and valued. 

By Tanishvel

2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament: Press Gallery

Each year the YMCA South Australia Youth Parliament Program runs each year, culminating in a residential week where participants, or young parliamentarians, spend the week debating bills in South Australian Parliament.

This year, the YMCA SA Youth Press Gallery program ran its inaugural program alongside the Youth Parliament program, where young people aged 15-17 who have an interest in political journalism and advocacy gain valuable skills and experience serving in the Press Gallery for the 2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament.

Members of the Press Gallery have spent the past three months developing their skills in producing news stories and writing for digital media and getting an insight into the news media industry from leading guest speakers, all in the lead up to the Youth Parliament Sitting Week. 

We’re excited to be hosting these works, and you can find the articles written by each member of the Press Gallery below. A big thanks to our friends at Youth Parliament for making The Smashed Avocado as one home for these pieces!

We also have articles written by three youth parliamentarians up now - so you can check out Brielle, Chelsea and Raghu’s experiences in their own words.

The 29th session of Youth Parliament kicks off with a memorable opening ceremony

Megan Rouski

Youth Parliament calls for more regional public transport across South Australia

Siddhan Govender

Supporting the growth of young athletes

Justice McGowan

A JEDI Council fitting of the Galactic Empire; De-aridification bill fails to pass in parliament

Alys Appleford

Leaders of today, lawmakers of tomorrow: SA Youth Parliament unveils first-of-its-find Indigenous Bill

Arjun Malhotra

Older Australians’ quality of life: Are younger generations the answer?

Matilda Every

These posts were originally published on The Y South Australia.

The YMCA SA Youth Press Gallery is a program for young people aged 15-17, where they gain valuable experience serving in the Press Gallery for the 2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament. Youth Press Gallery members develop and distribute articles about the Youth Parliament and the issues being debated, and have their work published. 

From stage fright to spotlight: my Youth Parliament adventure

My name is Tanish, and I am 17 years old. In just a year after arriving in Australia, I have taken on several significant leadership roles. I was appointed as the Student Head Prefect at my school and served as the Head of House Council in the Student Leadership Council. Additionally, I became a member of the Youth Advisory Committee of Campbelltown Council and volunteered as part of the Youth Crew. My involvement extended to being a part of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at school, where I actively participated in the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC). I also engaged with the Youth Summit Plan and the Youth Action Plan by the Department of Human Services (DHS). My dedication and leadership were recognized when I was elected as a Student Ambassador. These experiences culminated in my selection for the Youth Parliament, where I continued to develop my leadership skills and make a positive impact. 

I first learned about the Youth Parliament through the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC) and the Campbelltown Council. Encouraged by my friends and my involvement with local youth initiatives, I decided to apply for the Youth Parliament. This decision marked the beginning of an incredible journey. 

I had to be at the Nunyara Convention Centre on the 12th of July 2024 because I was elected as the Speaker for the House of Assembly. My training began with two days of intensive sessions on the 12th and 13th. On the 12th, I embarked on my first solo journey using the metro, which was an exciting experience. Upon arriving at Nunyara, I settled into my room and began my training. The sessions were comprehensive, covering the powers and responsibilities of a Speaker, how to handle various situations, and how to react in critical moments. The training was both enlightening and empowering. 

On Sunday, the training took on a more professional tone, with us sitting as if we were in the actual Parliament House. This gave me a clear understanding of what to expect. Later that day, other participants began arriving. Initially, I felt shy and overwhelmed as I didn't know many people, but by the evening, everyone had settled in, and the training for the other participants began. The training sessions were thorough, running until 8 pm, followed by dinner, which everyone, including myself, enjoyed. 

Parliament week began on Monday, which was incredibly exciting. Seeing the beautiful House of Assembly and witnessing the bill-passing process was fascinating. Monday evening included additional training, focusing on creating scripts and speeches with the help of party heads. Tuesday was particularly special as it marked my first day as Speaker. Although I felt nervous, the day went well. We also received invitation cards for a private showing hosted by Dr. Richard Harris, the Lieutenant Governor of SA. 

Wednesday was a recreation day filled with activities and bonding with the task leaders. It was a day of relaxation and plenty of hot chocolates.  

Thursday was energetic, as I had to debate as a member of the Crime Justice Corrections Committee. I continued my role as Speaker, and the day ended with more training, rest, and camaraderie at Nunyara. 

Friday was a day filled with surprises and emotions. The highlight was watching the task leaders debate in the chamber, which was thrilling. After wrapping up, we returned to Nunyara, packed our belongings, exchanged contact information, took emotional photos, and said our goodbyes. By the end of the week, I had transformed from someone with stage fright to a confident individual open to new experiences and people. 

In conclusion, my time in the Youth Parliament has been transformative. It has equipped me with valuable skills, broadened my horizons, and prepared me for future endeavors. I am grateful for the support and encouragement I received from my peers and mentors, and I look forward to applying the lessons learned in my future pursuits. 

By Tanishvel

A (very) messy rundown of the YMCA Youth Parliament

Hey everyone! I’m Raghu and I am a 16-year-old who’s trying to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. In the past few years, I’ve been thinking (read: obsessing) about my career path, the purpose of life, the cost-of-living crisis and hashbrowns — just the usual, you know? Only last year, I became interested in leadership and started my journey with the SRC at my school. While it was in a whole other postcode from my comfort zone, I enjoyed it and decided to take more leadership roles. This brings us, friends to how I learned about the existence of the great program known as the YMCA Youth Parliament.

Picture this: I walk into my debating meeting hopped up on sugar and sleep deprivation (#studentlife) and begin making argument after argument, at the end, my teacher walks up to me and suggests I channel my...  enthusiasm and passion towards a more fitting program. In essence, that is exactly what Youth Parliament is — a program for enthusiastic and passionate young people.

When I signed up earlier this year, I expected another school-like program that might help with my public speaking skills and teach me a bit more about parliament, much like civics and citizenship classes at school. Ultimately, I thought it was going to be beyond boring. Looking back, I cannot express how wrong I was. I can confidently say that Youth Parliament was one of the best weeks of my life and I learned more that week than I ever have in any school-based curriculum.

Now, I can almost hear you thinking, ‘Wow Raghu, that’s a mighty bold claim for you to make… I’m not entirely sure I believe you.’ Well dear reader, believe it because I’m going to give you the full rundown of my experiences (sprinkled with some witty comments for good measure).

When I explained to my friends what I did for a week it went along the lines of: ‘Oh so I went to Parliament House and debated on bills and other legislation on topics like regional train lines and the JEDI Council (don’t ask...).’ BORING. It’s hard to explain what makes it fun if you haven’t experienced it, but it’s the people, the environment, and the shenanigans. I can’t explain how we knighted a stuffed chicken (all shall bow to Dame Sharon the chicken), did the chicken dance (the most out-of-sync performance I’ve seen in my life) or chanted ‘WE HATE TRAINS’ in the middle of a speech about regional train lines (up the regions!). But these are memories that have made the week so silly yet, special.

The journey began in April when I attended the training days. These two days were essential for an introvert like me to branch out and make friends, and learn about the topic and the parliamentary system as a whole so I had some idea of what I would be doing. This included party election and deciding which chambers we wished to be in (If anyone remembers their year 7 civics curriculum it’s the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council  — I chose the latter).

Throughout Parliament week, one of the main themes I picked up through this experience was acceptance. No one there would judge me if I voted against my party (in fact you’re encouraged to vote on your conscience), and the supportive shouts of ‘hear, hear’ were always present if I faltered in a speech. Overall it just felt… welcoming.

Parliament Week seems to have gone by like a blur, but I’ll just give you my personal highlights for each day.

Monday: First day in Parliament House, first speech (got a lot more praise and encouragement than I feel I should have), First Parliamentary Pies (do NOT miss out on the pies, thank me later).

Tuesday: Tuesday was Government House Day. After finishing our day in Parliament, we all received some very fancy invitation cards. We entered a private showing of what felt like a Victorian-era museum hosted by the very gracious Dr Richard Harris, Lieutenant Governor of SA. Bucket list item I never knew I had; I took part in a game of Uno in one of the many rooms.

Wednesday: Wednesday was Recreational day, which meant a whole day of hanging out. Most memorable was Just Dance (don’t listen to what anyone tells you, I KILLED it in Rasputin). We ended the night with a wonderful, enchanted forest-themed party hosted by our wonderful RAW Taskies (Recreation and Wellbeing Taskforce members).

Thursday: Debated the bill I worked on in the Legislative Council, it was a serious topic revolving around family law but in the end, the hard work of my committee came to fruition as it passed in both chambers, being signed into law with the Youth Governor’s royal assent.

Friday: Friday began with the closing ceremony and some truly beautiful speeches that resonated with all of us. We then went into a highly entertaining taskforce debate about the proper storage of tomato sauce (long story short… if you aren’t putting it in the fridge, you have committed a criminal and personal offence) The day ended with heavy rain, leftover chips and faint tears in everyone’s eyes as we said goodbye.

If there is one thing I want you to take from this unnecessarily long-winded story, it is that young people are the future of this country (duh). We have the power and responsibility to shape it, influence it, and learn about ourselves to one day lead it. So, to anyone on the fence about Youth Parliament or any leadership-based program, I say give it a try. It doesn’t matter if you’re the loudest voice or the quietest voice, your opinions matter. Youth Parliament has been the most fun and the most sleep-deprived week of my year and I would not change a thing. I'm not entirely sure who trusts me to give advice, but my best advice would be to get out there, get involved, meet some cool people and have fun along the way. See you next year at Youth Parliament 2025!

By Raghu

This post was written and published as part of YACSA sponsorship for the 2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament program.

I went to Youth Parliament, here are my thoughts...

Youth Parliament (YP): A program the Y runs for young people to create and debate their legislation in their respective state parliament houses.

This admittedly sounds a bit boring to some when I attempt to summarise, but having had the opportunity to attend I could not recommend it enough to other young people.

I would like to consider myself a politically savvy young person… I know it’s not up to me to judge, but I would say that I have been aware of the impacts of youth voice on legislation for a while. I mean I'm literally doing a politics degree! And yet my first time in YP truly allowed me to identify my own bias and gaps in my knowledge. 

Whilst in university I’m stuck analysing pre-existing legislation and the legislative process from afar. YP allowed me to be directly involved in the process and problems of policy writing. I was assigned to the Crime, Justice and Corrections Committee which ultimately decided to tackle the enforcement of family court orders in our legislation. 

I personally had no lived experience of the family court system nor had I studied it to a great depth, however listening to and learning from those on my committee with that experience was truly eye-opening and, combined with further research, informed my views on those particular issues to this day.

This opportunity to listen to other diverse young people is the core of the YP program. When you get 100 or so young people debating in a room together from all walks of life: age groups, faith backgrounds, heritages, socioeconomic statuses, and living locations whether in metropolitan areas or the regions, you are practically guaranteed to listen to a perspective, problem or solution that you weren't aware of in the legislative process.

I found that those who listened actively to others both in and out of the chamber visibly benefited from this program the most. I can personally attest to this as much of my debate style morphed throughout the week based on conversations with others from diverse backgrounds. Overall I consider myself a more respectful open person because of YP which shone a glaring light on my inherent biases that I now consider in my day-to-day life.

Opportunities to listen to other young people at this scale are so few and far between, most youth advisory councils only consist of 10-15 members! And whilst consultation with broader groups of young people exists, it is still smaller scale, often repetitive and ultimately those outside perspectives are still limited to ‘the room where it happens’. YP is a strong step in allowing young people to contribute practical solutions to issues beyond our individual lived experiences on a larger scale.

With the Western world becoming increasingly partisan, YP in its non-partisan status allowed a refocus of my political understanding towards the solutions, the policies themselves rather than the people on either side proposing them. Even when in heated debate with other young people that I didn’t agree with, in subsequent debriefs I realised that our intentions were the same, to solve problems and make our society better with the best legislation we can propose. 

As young people, we desperately need the ability to appreciate the merits of policy solutions proposed in our country. With issues such as the climate crisis and the inflated cost of living in our near future, the policies made now are the ones that will affect us the most in future. Civics education programs such as YP that directly involve young people are so important both for our understanding of current solutions and our ability to propose new ones informed by diversity and numerous perspectives.  Practical introductory programs such as YP lay the foundations for the next generation of young scholars, professionals, leaders and advocates.

To summarise:

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Give a young person a problem and they will be passionate about it for a period, teach a young person how to make viable legislative solutions and they can make change for a lifetime.

By Chelsea

This post was written and published as part of YACSA sponsorship for the 2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament program.

Youth Parliament Unveiled: 4 Lessons That Transformed My Perspective

Participating in YMCA SA Youth Parliament 2024 was an educational and eye-opening experience. It was an opportunity to expand my knowledge into the workings of parliament, engage with likminded peers on critical issues, and develop practical and theoretical skills crucial for my personal growth through my future studies and career.  

Here are the four key skills and lessons I took away from Youth Parliament 2024: 

1. Understanding Parliamentary Procedures 

One of the biggest lessons I learnt was the intricacy of parliamentary procedures. Entering the program I had a generally good understanding of the South Australian Parliamentary system, however I still had so much to gain from this experience. My mind was opened to the complexities of bringing an issue to light through the process of writing, drafting, and debating a bill in parliament. Throughout this hands-on process I gained a much deeper understanding of the legislative process and the steps a bill must pass to become legislation in South Australia. This understanding has provided me a greater appreciation for the intricacy of legislative work and the skills required to navigate it effectively in the public eye and behind the scenes. 

2. The Power of Advocacy 

Youth Parliament emphasised the importance of advocacy, showing me that I can make a difference and giving me hope for the future. It was inspiring to see how young people can influence public policy and drive change through their passionate words and actions. By developing and debating bills we were passionate about I realised the true power of advocacy is so much more complex than I first thought, not just the power that comes from speaking loud and proud but also through the hard work, researching, collaborating, and drafting behind the scenes. My mind was expanded to the endless possibilities to make a difference in your own way, through your own medium, no matter how loud your voice. This experience underscored the demand for informed and strategic advocacy, motivating my future ambitions in making a tangible impact. 

3. Public Speaking and Debate 

Public speaking was a core developmental component of the Youth Parliament experience for me. Presenting bills, debating them, and responding to refuters honed my ability to articulate ideas clearly and confidently while taking a huge step towards overcoming my nerves around public speaking. I was able to learn the importance of clarity, conciseness, and persuasion when structuring a sponsoring speech for my bill while remaining within an incredibly supportive and safe environment. Moreover, the hours of parliamentary sittings, viewing, and participating in bill debates enabled me the environment to learn through observation. Through viewing hundreds of varied passionate speeches, I gained practical knowledge surrounding what to keep in mind and avoid when writing and preforming public speeches of different natures, with different intentions.  

4. Personal Growth 

On a personal level, the experience of Youth Parliament was incredibly empowering, and I learnt much about myself and my passions. I met so many amazing passionate young people, new friends, and mentors who I am greatly thankful for their support (thank you Amy, my committee’s incredible mentor!). The challenges, learning opportunities, moments for enjoyment, and memories made throughout this experience are invaluable and I will always feel grateful for my time in Youth Parliament. 

Youth Parliament is a reminder to everyone that young people have the power to make a difference and that our voices matter in shaping the future of Australia. 

By Brielle

This post was written and published as part of YACSA sponsorship for the 2024 YMCA SA Youth Parliament program.

Youth voice in regional communities

Hi, my name is Haylie and I'm a 14-year-old autistic female living in a regional area, currently in year 9. In the last 3 years, since entering high school, I have developed an interest in taking on leadership roles within my community. My main way of doing so has been by joining different youth councils and advisory groups, which is what I am here to talk about today.

For those living in metropolitan areas, these types of groups are much more common to come across, giving many ways to be involved in that particular community and have a say in matters affecting that area. But for young people like myself, living in regional areas, these groups can be quite challenging to find in local communities, either because of lack of interest or people willing to start them.

At the start of year 8, after having been unsuccessful in re-applying for my school's student representative council, I began researching in an attempt to find any youth councils or representative groups in my area. From my research, I was only able to find one group in my community, of which I had missed the application deadline for.

Surprised by my findings, I began to ask staff at my school if they knew of any, which they didn't. Next, I asked my local council, which was when I found out that the group that I’d already come across was the only one in my local area. When I asked about this, I did find out about YMCA's Junior Parliament program, along with YACSA. After being told this, I decided to sign up for the Junior Parliament program, along with becoming a YACSA young member.

A few months later, I also sent an email to my local member of parliament to share my concern about the lack of groups on offer in the area and later ended up meeting with them. After this, I was introduced to a couple other members of the community. One of which was the chairperson of a local mental health organisation.

Over time, I began to speak further with the chairperson of the mental health organisation, along with the local council, while also reaching out to other local organisations to see if any new groups were being made. From these discussions, ideas started to form and multiple community development projects slowly began.

At the end of year 8 and the start of year 9, I did some more research, this time looking at what larger groups were on offer. From this, I was able to find a couple state-wide groups, both of which I applied for. I was successful in joining one of the groups and, at the time of writing, am yet to find out about my application to the other group.

Making new advisory groups or councils in local areas would allow for young people to have the opportunity to make a positive change within their local communities, while building many great skills and developing new interests. Allowing them to help shape the groups is another great idea, as it helps to incorporate topics and ideas affecting the local area that they’re passionate about, along with making a more comfortable and motivating environment for those involved.

If you happen to find yourself in a similar situation, my best advice is to step out of your comfort zone and try something different. Reaching out to decision makers in your community, whether that be your local council, members of parliament, or youth organisations in your community. It is a great way to have you voice heard. Whether it be to try and start a group in your area, or to voice your ideas and concerns yourself, it is a great way to do so and will allow you to meet many new people and learn new things in the process.

Don't let failure discourage you. If you don't get the result you were hoping for, keep trying. With enough time and effort, anything is possible. No matter how big or small you goal is, it can be achieved if you keep trying and putting in all your effort.

SA Youth Climate Alliance

South Australian students participating in a study-in at Parliament house when we went down to chat with them on Wednesday 15 Nov 2023 about their action. Pictured (in no particular order): Harper, Anjali, Katherine, Ula, Lilith, Cyrus, Tilly and Bella.

If you walked by Parliament House toward the end of last year during the week of November 13 – 17, you would’ve seen a group of high school students with a somewhat unusual study setup.

While their peers across the state and country alike are working from classrooms, libraries and loungeroom floors these students are out in the sun in an attempt to progress their academic futures and climate action at a state and federal level.

The week-long study-in, coordinated by the SA Youth Climate Alliance (previously Adelaide School Strike for Climate) culminates in a submission wring session for The Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2023 on the Friday, coinciding with around 400 other protests and actions across the country. 

Harper Forsythe and Anjali Beames are oranisers behind this action, striking here all week because right now, they’re more stressed about the climate than their ATARS.

“We’re studying for a future that we won’t have without real action on climate change,” Anjali said.

The demonstration is a kind of tongue in cheek response to the way Australian politicians have historically responded to student protests, especially for climate action.

“Every time we strike or there is a demonstration of young people, politicians often say, ‘oh, go back to school,’ ‘students belong in school,’ regardless of their political affiliations - we're demonstrating because it is a dual anxiety both the climate and education…  the reality is that these things are occurring side-by-side for us,” explained Harper.

This is an intensive week, with striking students occupying the steps of Parliament House from 9 am – 5 pm Monday – Friday, but this disruption to their own schooling is not only to demonstrate that they care about the issue, but that climate anxiety is already doing just that.

“We have to juggle these responsibilities of planning for our future, despite the concerns that we have that it might not happen, and the things that we're studying for, the jobs that we're dreaming of [are] going to be negatively affected and quite severely impacted by climate change and the associated natural disasters and consequences of the changing climate that the government's not doing enough to mitigate,” Anjali said.

Particularly once you factor in the schedules, hours and commitments of both parliamentarians and students, it’s clear that the structures in place present more barriers to young people than other members of the community and groups.

“Setting up meetings is near impossible when you're juggling school extracurriculars and then politicians say, ‘hey, I'll be free in six months, maybe for two minutes,’” said Harper.

So they’re calling on politicians to make time for them instead, but the reception to their action has left something to be desired from their representatives.

To put it bluntly, it has been largely photo-op centric.

“We get a lot of particularly anyone in government, not the opposition at any given time (regardless of party), who’ll come out and take a photo and say, ‘hi, good on you for coming out here,’ and pat us on the back.”

While that is the extent of those interactions, they’re still the more positive ones.

“A lot of politicians avoid us. You could really tell on the first day of sitting when they didn't know we were here they were walking past, and then taking the side and back entrances. So it's either a photo op outright avoidance, or federally we see a lot of denigration of students protesting.”

So this didn’t come as a surprise to the strikers.

“I feel as though politicians definitely disregard the opinions and thoughts of young people, I'd go so far as to say there is a quite hostility to it.”

“I have definitely done more research on certain issues than many politicians I've spoken to, and yet they really struggle to believe that I have any expertise in any area.”

“Obviously it is a lot of ageism, and I would say that because a lot of youth movements are led by young women, queer and gender diverse people and people of colour… that is part of it. I think a lot of marginalised voices get lost.”

Harper has even experienced politicians expressing to them that their political interests, and that of other young people, are centered around legalising vapes – a youth led movement we’re unaware of.

But this action is about demonstrating how much they care not only to those who work inside the walls of Parliament, but those going past.

“On a small scale what we're doing is not just behind closed doors, it's something public that members of the community can see that we're doing and that we care about, so it's almost two way. It’s trying to draw attention to us from politicians, but also from members of the public,” Anjali explains.

This is only made more important by the way politicians are dismissive of young people.

“From one meeting, they're not going to launch this new policy, they're not going to change anything. But continual pressure from the public, that's the biggest thing that's going to change their minds.”

“As young people, what legitimacy do we have? What credibility do we necessarily have as being experts in what we're telling them? We want people who are experts, and we want people in those positions, the people who are lobbyists and that sort of thing to be advocating for us on our behalf, not making us do the labour of meeting with people during school days and inconvenient times for us.”

But of course, this isn’t without its own challenges. With so many avenues of climate advocacy, like emissions, climate change, biodiversity and deforestation (to name a few), it can be difficult to convey progress.

“It's a lot easier to resonate with a specific issue or a specific place that needs to be saved or something where you can really quantify the win.”

Instead, they characterise their movement as an ongoing criticism of the way that governments in Australia consider young people and their futures.

And because young people are systemically excluded from established processes, central to these movements is an understanding that we can’t all do everything – but we can all do something to create collective pressure.

“Change doesn't just come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up. By engaging in multiple forms of advocacy, change-making looks different for everyone.”

“No one way works better than another, but different methods achieve different things and so what we're doing today and this week is achieving something different than those meetings directly with MP's and that sort of thing”

The message they want to leave you with? There is always something, and there’s no time to waste.

“Find out what works for you – but do something. That's what we're asking. If you're unable to join us at the study-in or similar protests, that doesn't mean that you have no way to make change, but you'll be the one who has to decide what works for you.”

“Don't let one method that doesn't work completely put you off from engaging in change making and engaging in politics, because there is something for you, but you have to put in the time and the effort to find out what that is and to see it through.”

“Every time a politician tells you to wait until we get into Parliament, we need to think about who the young parliamentarians are. Max Chandler is far older than me and he is the young MP, and people mock him for not wearing a tie… young people in parliament are disrespected for their youth,” said Harper.

“We don't have the time to waste, in my lifetime Kiribati and Tuvalu Pacific Island Nations are going underwater and Darwin won't be livable because it will be too hot. We are seeing in real time that by the time I am 50, the planet will be completely different than when I was born in 2005.

“So don't wait until you're in Parliament for them to disrespect you in a suit and tie. Let them disrespect you now and wait until they will finally listen to us.”

We’d like to thank all those involved for taking the time to speak to us, and especially to Harper and Anjali for sitting down with us during their action. You can find the SA Youth Climate Alliance on Instagram @sayouthclimatealliance for a full recap - the Minister for the Environment, Minister for Energy, and  Leader of the Opposition (amongst others) did stop and speak to them throughout the week, and whilst not all conversations were receptive,  the study in was a pretty successful tactic!

Amber's story - Making change

YACSA young member and School Strike for Climate organiser, Amber sat down with us to give some insight into her experience getting involved with decision making and advice for other young activists looking to do the same here in SA.

Amber is also establishing a youth forum for students from year ten to 12, run by young people for young people, so stay tuned till the end to hear more about that and how to get involved.

So, why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, your involvement with School Strike for Climate and what sparked your passion? 

I'm Amber, I'm 17 and I'm currently studying year 11 at University Senior College. My passion sparked after I marched in the big School Strike for Climate event in 2019. There was about 20,000 people there, and I felt overwhelmingly empowered by the power of young people and marching alongside young people, I’ve never felt that kind of empowerment before. 

After that I looked into joining the core team and a few weeks later I did. I feel a really deep responsibility as a young person to stand up for action against the climate crisis, as it is as my generation, and probably a few generations before and after me, that are going to be the ones that are most impacted by it. I think this responsibility has fallen on young people now, and that’s why I joined School Strike for Climate. 

I have been part of School Strike for Climate since the end of 2019 and it's been brilliant. Honestly, the empowerment that we feel together, it’s definitely a group of angry young people and that's what fuels us to march and to create these protests. They were pretty big for me personally, I was sick of it all, I was just tired and very angry at the world, and I still kind of am.  Protesting is a way of coping in these uncertain times and we're able to put our anger into something good.

We had a strike in on the 25th of September last year, focused on opposing the Australian gas industry and the federal government support of gas. Obviously 2020 was very hard to do a big 20,000 people march once again, but it was great to have a few hundred come down and to get the community together again. Obviously we want the health of the people attending to be our number one priority in this, so we're still learning on how to create more safe marches and protests, and we're fortunate enough in Adelaide to have another two marches this year, one was in March and there’s another one coming in October. 

It's sometimes hard to plan and have a big march and not see direct action taking place, but I need to keep reminding myself that the reward is for me, this is what I want to do and the people around me are here to support me. I just need to be in that mindset to understand that this is a personal growth and a personal development. That’s important for me, I need to know that the people around me feel the same way and that they’re there to march for much of the same reasons that I'm doing it and feeling so supported in that manner, despite what the government is doing for climate action in general. 

How big was that jump, going from someone who was attending those marches to then being on the inside and organising them? How different is that experience? 

That was a definitely an unreal experience, I went from just not knowing a lot about climate change to being invited to have meetings with the police and Adelaide City Council. I was still 14/15 at the time so I was pretty unexperienced with striking and what that actually meant for me, but it was very cool. 

Activism and advocacy, it's just one way of creating change it’s great to get media coverage and to get our voices heard at a political level. Striking is definitely only one aspect of creating a change though.

You’ve been involved in a number of youth forums and other opportunities, what's your experience been with these outside of School Strike? 

Me and my friends last year wrote up a proposal about waste management in all state schools and we reflected the kind of thing that we were initiating in the BinShift proposal, and we met with the Minister for Environment and Water and we talked about it with him. I felt very grateful that I have this opportunity where I can meet with someone who can make a direct impact on that and that can listen to me as a young person.  

I've also had the opportunity to be on the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s advisory committee with a few other amazing young people in South Australia. We’ve had conversations from talking about mental health to environment to schools, so I feel very privileged to be on that and to be a representative for my peers and suggest things on the behalf of other young people. 

I'm doing a lot of work trying to create local, communal change with my local council. It was just such a random connection, they just dropped the letter by with information about green waste, and my friend and I who both live in the same council area thought wow, that's super cool, let's meet the people that are doing that. We met with them and that turned into this massive thing, we met with the mayor and we got filmed and then I had a meeting last week with the Environment Officer and an Engagement Officer and they want to hear about young people so, I’d definitely say get in touch with your local council. It’s a great way to creating a change, they're there to represent you so getting your voice heard at a local level is definitely important.

We've also done a few beach clean-ups, like last year we did a few with the Semaphore Larges Dunes Group. Me and my friends thought let's do that, let's do a direct impact kind of day, we were all part of School Strike for Climate, but this was something outside of that. Striking is about 95% planning and organising so we thought why not just get our hands dirty for a bit and we connected with the community, so it was great to have that opportunity.  

From there I also did a workshop with around 250 year nine students, which was pretty scary because I was only in year ten at the time. We talked about carbon footprint and becoming more of a conscious individual and a conscious consumer, understanding where your food is coming from, if it's local or if it's imported internationally and becoming more aware of that. We got a whole heap of food, and the students had to rank them from what they thought had the least to the most carbon footprint. That was really interesting because I don't think carbon footprint is a main issue that we talk about, the climate crisis just has so many issues and to unpack all of them would take a lot of time so just combatting this one with a group of year nine students was very beneficial I thought. 

If you had one piece of advice for other young people who are looking to get involved in activism, whether it's climate based or in a different area, what would that be for someone entering that space? 

I was fortunate enough to be on a panel with Craig Wilkins and Chris Daniel, some amazing people in Adelaide and when they were asked by the audience; what can we do? They both said do something, and as little as that may sound, it's big. Just starting to recycle even, starting to collect the soft plastics, little things like picking up a bit of rubbish, honestly, just do something because that inspires the rest of your peers and your family. I asked my mum; please can we just start a soft plastics bin? and here we are doing that now. My grandma’s washing plastic bags and reusing them, and that goes on to my uncle doing the same, we're seeing that spread and my grandma's friends are probably doing similar stuff because of her starting.  

I wouldn't say it was easy to start off with, my dad loved plastic bags at the supermarket but now he can't go without his little reusable bags and he washes them each weekend, it's definitely a step up and it's definitely a challenge and I’m very privileged to have a supportive family to create that change.  

Just look at what we've seen with Greta Thunberg starting striking at Parliament in Sweden, and here we are now in Australia doing what she started, one little thing can create a big impact (not to say Greta Thunberg’s strike was little). So that's all I can say really, just do something. 

So now you're moving towards establishing a youth forum for high school age activists like yourself, why don't you tell us a bit about that and why that's something that you've decided to take on? 

I decided to kickstart this youth forum because I feel like in South Australia at the moment there's not a lot of platforms for young people aged year ten to year 12 that are youth led for young people. You come to an age around year ten where you don't want to do workshops run by adults. It was definitely worth it when I was getting into it and kickstarting my passion, it definitely grew me, but I just feel like now who wants to listen to an adult, you know? I'm the change. 

So I definitely felt that there should be a platform in Adelaide for like-minded students to come together. I also feel that debriefing and chatting and just discussing issues concerning young people is a great way of letting off steam, raising concerns and also just knowing that you're not the only one I guess.  

It's also a great way for young people to share their thoughts about issues concerning them. I know that there's a heap of people I've met who aren't comfortable striking, which is totally OK, but then don't know where to start and with their incredible ideas and motives. 

Do you have a message to end on for anyone who's maybe thinking about putting in an expression of interest and having a chat with you? 

Yeah, I say just go for it, definitely. Feel all right doing it, don't do it if you feel uncomfortable and talk to your parents or school or a friend about it if you're feeling uncertain about joining. But if you think it's for you, definitely join up, that would awesome. 

You can find an expression of interest form here or if you would like more information send an email to yacsa@yacsa.com.au and we will connect you with Amber. 

Shania's story - Refusing to accept defeat

Content warning: discussion of mental health and mentions of suicide

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I’m here to share what I wished someone did for me while I was in high school – stressing yourself out and sacrificing your mental health isn’t worth the burn out.  

Hello, my name is Lady Shania Richards. I am a twenty-two-year-old Wongutha, Ndgaju, Gubrun, Bulang, Mirning, Barngarla woman with German and British ancestry and I was raised between Kalgoorlie, Port Lincoln, Esperance and Kambalda West. 

Going to several different high schools, trying to get the perfect grades wasn’t worth being pushed to the point that suicide seemed my only way out.  

Let me explain, in the small country towns I attended high school, we were literally brainwashed into believing that if we didn’t choose the ATAR pathway, we weren’t good enough for university, or a good life for that matter. In fact, it was so common for Indigenous Females to drop out of our school and have children, that teachers told me that was all I had to look forward to, being a young dropkick single mother.    

My heart and soul were crushed but I refused to accept defeat.  

So, in year eleven I chose the ATAR pathway and tried my hardest to do the best I could. All was good at first, but I was faking my way through since I couldn’t afford the textbooks, even though I spent my weekends working for minimal wage at Maccas.  

Money was scarce in my family, being in a single parent household with us four kids. The bills just kept coming out of nowhere, we had enough to survive but were living pay check to pay check. We weren’t dirt poor, but we weren’t strangers to starvation either, sometimes we just had to have sleep for dinner.

But we were happy, we had each other and unconditional love and hope and faith that someday an opportunity would come our way. We were grateful to be alive and create memories and I always tried my best to help support my mother and siblings, even if it meant sacrificing the textbooks price, having a normal social life, and doing activities that cost money.  

When exam time came and went, I once again had my heart and soul crushed. Somehow, I had failed. Me, the girl spending 30 hours a week studying and working so hard in society, only to be dragged into the principal’s office and told to drop out so I wouldn’t make the school look bad. It wasn’t personal, just statistically they couldn’t afford me to repeat and fail again.

By the time my mum rocked up, my cheeks were flushed red with rage, and I was prepared to say some honest things, when my eyes betrayed me, and tears poured out. No matter what I said, I had no hope, MY LIFE WAS OFFICALLY OVER. Even though I technically didn’t even finish the year, they didn’t want to take that risk.

I believed that failing ATAR was a death sentence, and I was better off dead. Than to bring dishonour to my family, my culture, and my country.  

After having a mental breakdown my mum dropped me off in South Australia to my father’s side of the family, as my depression grew toxic.  I summoned the strength to try again once more in the education system. So, mum helped me enrol into a high school and pick out classes. I became excited to live again, another chance to make a better future. Until I was told my previous ATAR credits wouldn’t count, as being interstate and a different system, they didn’t have the classes to transfer the credits into.  

My heart sank, as I was kind of hoping to use that as a base to build from, rather than having to start over. 

I was too sacred to voice my concerns to either of my parents, and so my mum took off back across the Nullarbour to continue my siblings schooling.  

My father tried to be supportive, but we never really saw eye to eye. Culturally his views were accustomed to our people’s core values, whereas mine, however, are more contemporary and have different urbanized beliefs. Things would become tense when he, or his side of the family, found me studying, simply because they feared what they didn’t understand. 

The high school here was worse, the segregation was real. I was the only Aboriginal kid in every class besides dance. And even then, no one would sit near me or include me for over a six-month period. After a while I got a bit irritated by the teachers underestimating me and speaking to me like I don’t understand English. It was just insulting. Especially when I realised that all the ATAR classes Mum and I enrolled in weren’t the ones I was given by the school’s timetable. 

This whole time I was in general, and boy was I wild.  The system doesn’t work. So, I dropped out of that school, and spent the rest of the year researching alternative pathways and soon became the local library’s number one fan.  

Of course, my family wasn’t too happy when they found out. Christmas time came, and so did my mum and siblings, ready to pick me up and help me figure out what I’m doing with my life. We returned to WA and because I didn’t want to do TAFE, I did the next best thing.

The high school offered me a role in the Kitchen Operations VET course, and I accepted, still wanting to be more than a statistic.  

The year that followed let me witness everyone I grew up with who chose ATAR ended up becoming things I was told I would be if I didn’t follow that pathway. Some were using hard core drugs, others had entered sex work, many died by suicide and others were kids having kids. That’s when I realized the hard way, YOU AREN’T DEFINED BY WHAT YOU GET OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

Your environmental factors determine so much of your experience. You can be set to fail but still succeed. You can be set up for success but still fail. It all matters in what you choose to do with what you have.  

Sadly, in our current education system there isn’t enough awareness of mental health, illnesses and how it can impact one’s ability to function as well as learn, and so much of how the system works causes students unnecessary stress.  

Also, the pressure from peers, parents and community plays heavily into adding emotional burdens that our fellow youth shouldn’t be stressed fixating upon. Being an adolescent with changing bodies, minds, emotions, and hormones is hard and scary enough.  

The pressure of achieving the highest possible ATAR isn’t even realistic, and when you go to university no one walks around bragging about ATAR results, and no one in the real world working in an industry is concerned about that either.  

Let me tell you a little secret, you don’t need an ATAR to achieve your dreams. You need self-determination, love, and motivation.  

I repeated Year Eleven through VET and once I graduated year 12 with the highest grades and eight certificates, millions of opportunities were presented to me. I also had the chance to explore catering locally while modelling in the first ever Goldfields Girl.  

I then went onto study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in Aboriginal Performance as well as being in several short films and theatre productions. After that I started working towards completing a certificate III in Commercial Cookery, with South Metro TAFE & Careers Group Employment and am now studying Singing/Song Writing with Talents.College.  

I have also but my hands up, not out, for many volunteering opportunities such as, Festival of the Wind, Thura Yura Resilience Training (Army Training), Passionis Productions (Drama Company), Country Arts SA, NADOIC/GILD, Kids Fest, Diggers and Dealers, York Medieval Festival, writing mentorship with Alexis West (First Nations Author) and workshops with Elaine Crombie (First Nations Performer). 

I also went on to start my own small business, Nerdy Indigenous Art, and am working as a Cultural Heritage Consultant/Monitor on behalf of Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation.  

It was during this time a friend, Dylan, shared with me his wonderful experience with the YMCA Youth Parliament South Australia program and encouraged me to apply. Youth Parliament is a place for young people to learn about politics while finding their own voices and make like-minded friends.  

I was secretly passionate about politics, but it’s not something I thought someone like me was able to do.

As fate would have it, I was successfully accepted into the Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation Committee of 2021 where I was honoured to be assistant minister and main sponsor for our bill in the Legislative Council. I was also super grateful to participate in delivering the acknowledgement of country during the opening ceremony.

Our bill was the Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill 2021 SA, which we managed to pass through both houses with a unanimous vote. Being in that room, where you could feel the power of change, listening to young people of Australia speak about topics close to our hearts was a huge and significant moment for me. As it showed me what I thought was never allowed, the possibility for our generation to be seen and heard. To be the change we want to see and know that the power is with the people and our voices will be heard and can help in making our world a better place for the greater good of us all.

The Youth Governors Motion of Public Importance which spoke of extending the vote for all Australian residence, just made sense to us all. As did the deliberate motion that investigated our homelessness issue across all of Australia. Each of the bills that were debated, were carefully thought out and crafted by the Youth Parliamentarians, with a mighty passion that showed our Australians youth enthusiasm and dedication of communication, critical thinking, creative problem solving and justice.

A few that stood out for me personally and changed my perspectives were the Death with Dignity Bill, Emergency Medical Services Reform, The Food Reduction Bill, and the Mandatory Consent Education Bill. These each blew my mind away, quite frankly I was also moved by several adjournment speeches that were given by my peers. Through them, I was brought to tears, by the beautifully spoken topics, which powerfully varied from cruel gay conversion camps to toxic family abuse, domestic violence, mental health, homelessness, and sexual assault. Topics I never thought my South Australian peers had personally experienced already at such a young vulnerable age. 

From this, the flame inside my heart grew more, until I had no choice but to put my hand up for Youth Governor elections, with hopes of being able to become the big sister and Aunty needed to help guide our Youth, like I do within my own family. As if this opportunity couldn’t get any more magical for me, I was grateful and honoured to become the First Female Aboriginal Regional Youth Governor of South Australia. 

We’re currently already working on running our little brother program Junior Parliament Program for next month, so if you have any family or friends aged 12-15, look here for more info and sign up.  

It goes to show, never give up and just try again. I achieved this, only because I failed ATAR. 

This is just an amazing reminder to breathe, just relax and know what’s meant for you will come.

Regardless of ATAR or not, I believe in you. 

Kid's Helpline - 1800 551 800

Support and counselling for people aged 5-25 for any reason via webchat or phone. Available 24/7

Lifeline - 13 11 14

Crisis support and suicide prevention. Available 24/7

IDAHOBIT with Dean: The power of gender visibility

Every year, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is celebrated on 17 May, marking the day in 1990 the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. IDAHOBIT is a celebration of the diverse experiences of people in the LGBTQIA+ community while raising awareness of the continued discrimination and challenges faced. This is a day to listen to and learn from queer folk and their experiences. 

As part of our IDAHOBIT celebrations, we are passing the mic to Dean, 20-year-old Creative Arts student and YACSA young member to taking this time to listen to him on parts of his experience. We’ve also put a little glossary at the bottom of this post if you need it!

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Hey there to all my guys, gals and non-binary pals! As you just read, my name’s Dean (he/him pronouns) and I’ll be your host for this special IDAHOBIT article! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my story and what I have to say – hopefully you’ll learn something you didn’t know before, but I’d be happy even if this is just a new perspective for you.

Let’s start with where I fit into all this: I’m the ‘T’ in LGBTQIA+. I’m a transgender man (which from this point on I’ll abbreviate to ‘trans’). For me, that means I was assigned female at birth but have since transitioned to male to better align my internal and external states of being (i.e., my sense of identity with my body).

That being said, whenever possible I prefer to use the phrase ‘guy/man/dude of trans experience’ because I find it prevents my identity from being tunnel-visioned by my transness – my identity exists beyond that. For example, the further you read, the more you’ll come to notice that I’m a painfully meticulous person. I’m not even 200 words into this and I’m already discussing the nuances of my label.

My transition history perfectly fits the stereotypical binary trans narrative. I was aware of the disconnect between my body and identity from a young age, but I didn’t learn to put how I felt into words until I was around 15-16. I came out to an accepting family and community, lived socially as male between then and the start of my medical and legal transition at 18, and now I’m here.

Now I know I’m skipping over a lot of details here, but that’s because the skeleton of my experience as a white, middle-class, able-bodied person, living in a loving community with access to appropriate resources is one that has been told many times over. My transition has been, and will continue to be, a miracle. That’s not to say it has been a perfect, linear journey with no issues – having to transition in the first place isn’t fun or something you do on a whim, it’s a matter of survival.

The combination of privilege, luck and timing produced a significantly more positive and streamlined outcome than the experiences of the vast majority of those in the trans community. A minority within a minority, if you will. So rather than detailing a timeline for you, I want to redirect our focus outwards.

In the five-ish years I’ve been living as a man with trans experience, my relationship to gender and the way I interact with it in my life has evolved beyond anything baby me could’ve ever imagined.

Remember how earlier I said that my transition fits the stereotypical trans narrative? Read that back slowly and consider the wording of that sentence. In this context, to ‘fit’ is to fulfil a particular role, but it lacks autonomy and applies a neutrality to the whole notion of my identity.

There’s no consideration or room for trans happiness in the stereotypical trans narrative, and that’s on purpose. However, there is always room for the opposite. We don’t see trans joy but instead, this graphic depiction of trans pain and misery – the trauma of being trans in a cisnormative world. The ‘trans narrative’ we’re so accustomed to hearing has instilled in us, cisgender and transgender people alike, that a trans person’s ultimate goal is assimilation. It can’t be anything more because a trans person’s existence is merely tolerable. This narrative wasn’t made by trans people; hell, it wasn’t even made for trans people.

But the fact that it’s ‘stereotypical’ means that it works, and unfortunately it works very well – it worked on me. I was adamant that (to which I’d now replace with ‘conditioned to believe’) blending into our binary, cisnormative, heteronormative society would be the pinnacle of my manhood. For at least the first two years of my transition, I focused solely on ‘passing’ as male, integrating into male culture and rarely, if ever, being perceived as female. I don’t remember when I achieved that goal, but I distinctly recall the realisation I had soon after:

“Wait, hold on… this is it?”

It was anti-climactic; I’ll say that much.

I had come to the end of the trans narrative. I was surviving, but it wasn’t enough to fulfill my sense of being. Again my relationship with gender had been thrown into question and I was off on a sequel of self-discovery. On this journey there have been two perspectives that have significantly uprooted and redefined my understanding.

I was surprised by how empowering it was to discover LGBTQIA+ history. In retrospect, it only makes sense. Prior to this, I hadn’t seen any representation of myself beyond my whiteness. I’d had no exposure to LGBTQIA+ history until my first year of university. I had no idea what the Stonewall Riots were up until that point. Let that sink in for a second. As LGBTQIA+ person, I had no knowledge of the revolution that triggered the fight for my community’s rights that I’m still fighting for today. I’m trans and didn’t know that trans people were, and remain, at the forefront of this. Not only that, I had to search for it myself, which is a near-impossible task when your community has had to balance being actively erased but just visible enough to survive. Having this information more accessible to us and the general public should be non-negotiable. It’s a matter of visibility, of equality, of dignity and of safety.

The bittersweetness of recognising the failings of the Western binary was also a major source of affirmation for me. It destroyed my understanding of gender that had been strangled by this binary up until this point. There are Indigenous cultures across the world, including First Nations cultures in ‘Australia’, that recognise gender beyond two boxes. I can vividly remember how my fascination with this descended into betrayal. The fact that gender diversity had existed in such close proximity to me left me infuriated with my experience. I’d gone my whole life fighting for a different gendered experience when the only reason either exist is oppression, and as a result of this, I’m outcasted from my own community.

My own culture had failed me. I still stand by that to this day, but it no longer threatens the existence of my gender experience. My understanding gives me power over it and the only thing that matters is my comfort in my own gender expression. It is the primary reason why I’m as stable in my identity as I’ve become – if binary gender doesn’t exist, then I have no reason to care for gender roles and expectations.

I want to leave you with somewhere to go, whether you have resonated with my experience or just want to learn more, here are some of the people I have learnt from. Visibility for me has been the difference between surviving and living, and diversifying your own social media feeds is an easy start to shifting the trans narrative to a celebration of transness and gender diversity.

·       Alok Vaid-Menon | @alokvmenon

·       Chella Man | @chellaman

·       Schyuler Bailar | @pinkmantaray

·       Indya Moore | @indyamoore

·       Nevo Zisin | @nevozisin

·       Rain Dove | @raindovemodel

·       Matt Bernstein | @mattiv

·       Munroe Bergdorf | @munroebergdorf

·       Miles McKenna | @themilesmckenna

FYI Glossary:

Cisgender- often abbreviated to ‘cis’ refers to someone who’s gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgender- often abbreviated to ‘trans’ refers to someone who’s gender identity doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender binary- the classification of gender into two distinct categories, male and female.

Cisnormativity- the assumption that being cisgender is the norm and that this is more valid than any other form of gender identity.

Heteronormativity- the assumption that being heterosexual (straight) is the norm and that this is more valid than any other form of sexual orientation.

Words by Dean Plesa

Doha's Story - The School Strike 4 Climate

In the lead up to the 2019 federal election, we asked young people what their key issues were. Resoundingly, the top response was the climate crisis.

Over the last 12 months, the School Strike 4 Climate movement has catapulted its way into the national spotlight, as young people have staged the biggest protests in a generation.

Doha, a young person currently completing year 12, has been one the key organisers for the Climate Strikes in South Australia. We caught up with her to discuss her personal journey and her experience going from a concerned citizen to an activist driving change on issues she’s passionate about.

Let’s go:

We’ve seen two Climate Strikes in Adelaide, with thousands of young people taking to the streets to demand action on climate change. We’ve seen the footage of the Climate Strikes around Australia, and around the world. This is a huge movement.

Where did your involvement with this movement begin? How did all of this start?

It started initially with Greta Thunberg striking outside the Swedish Parliament and it took off from there. There were groups popping up across Australia, starting with two girls from Castlemaine, Harriot and Milou. They connected with a group called Tipping Point - who support grassroots groups establish themselves. From there, they put a call out for people from capital cities who were interested in looking to kick something off locally. They sent out a link and I signed up! Two other students signed up as well and we founded it here.

What made you want to click that link and take that first step?

As young people, there aren’t many opportunities to take the lead on issues. Initially, I never would have thought of striking if I thought something was unfair. I would just post about it on social media and let it go. It was just the perfect opportunity to get into activism and actually take a stand.

So what happens next? How did it grow?

There was a group chat made with the two others and some adult supports - and we kind of went from there. After the November 30th strike happened, we kind of started building the student team. We went from three students to 25 now in the central team.

In terms of getting it out there and recruiting people who wanted to be involved, it was the role of the students. We went into our schools and into our networks. We handed our posters and flyers. We were the ones responsible for getting students on board. Adults helped with logistics and council stuff.

Building the team was really challenging at first. It’s hard to reach out to people and it’s hard to bring them in and keep them in. What we did to get the first group of students into the team was to have an open meeting and introduce them to what School Strike 4 Climate was, why it’s a good opportunity to get involved with, and what the role would entail. A big part of keeping them in the group was giving them a sense of empowerment – giving them a role they felt like they could do and a role that contributed to creating this change and this movement that was really taking off.

How did you come up with the things that you’re asking for? You’ve got this giant energy behind you, and you want to spearhead it with demands, what was that process like?

While we want the same end goal, while we want climate action, there’s a lot of different pathways to getting there.

To come up with the demands, and to make sure people are behind those demands, it takes a lot of consultation. It took us a while to come up with the School Strike 4  Climate demands. We kind of pulled on what the wider environmental movement was saying. So we got behind the Stop Adani campaign, we got behind the Just Transition demands. We got behind the 100% renewables by 2030 campaign, and the No New Fossils Fuels campaign. I guess the process was democratic and there was a lot of consultation.

We do try to bring a sense of urgency to it. There was a report released recently saying we don’t have 12 years to act – we only have 18 months!

What apps or resources do you use to connect, organise and inform so many people?

It’s mainly just messenger groups – we have so many group chats! And to connect with our supporters, we mainly use Mailchimp.

Photo taken at the School Strike 4 Climate - March 15 2018

What’s been the biggest challenge for you throughout this process?

I get the worst case of ‘imposter syndrome’. Like I feel like I kind of just fell into this position – sort of like the coordinator for the Branch in South Australia and the national rep for South Australia as well – and sometimes it’s like ‘how did I get to this point’. It’s been a really fast journey and we’ve grown really quickly.

I think most young people doubt their abilities, and I kind of do that too. Because with the strikes – we always try to say that our voices are important and we must be listened to – but when it comes to personally, what I can contribute, I’m a little bit… I guess… hesitant. I want to make sure what I’m contributing is meaningful and can actually make change and provide a perspective that isn’t provided by other sources.

I think the politics side of it was the most challenging thing about coming into this space as an emerging activist. We had some issues with a group trying to hijack our stuff. They were kind of telling us, you know, how things should be done. They were doing it in a way that was quite controlling. They wanted to see it go in a certain direction. They were aggressive and critical of our choice to not go in their direction. I suppose it was like a wake up call.

A bunch of university student union people came in and helped out and helped us write up formal partnership agreements.

I learned that I wouldn’t go into a partnership without a formal agreement beforehand.

What’s been the coolest moment?

Straight after the March 15 Strike. That was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never seen a turn out for a protest like that. And it seemed insane that a group of 15 or so 13-17 year olds organised all of that… yea. That was pretty insane. It was very empowering.

When you’re looking to the crowd, what are you thinking to yourself?

‘This is absolutely incredible’.

Actually. On the day I was really concerned because the stage actually didn’t show up - so I was really thinking ‘where’s the stage, where’s the stage, where’s the stage!’

Why do you feel it’s important for the Strikes to be organised and led by young people?

I think that it’s just in the spirit of an event organised by young people for young people – I think having it organised by young people makes sure that youth perspectives are truly represented and truly made accessible to everyone.

Photo taken at the School Strike 4 Climate - March 15 2018

The next strikes are for everyone, and not just students. What was the decision-making process there?

Part of it had to do with the election outcome. There was some sentiment around how Queensland was ‘lost’ because of coal jobs, and workers felt like they weren’t included in the environmental movement. So we are opening it up and changing our demands to reflect that we need a Just Transition. Workers can’t be left behind, they’re part of this movement too – so opening it up is a reflection of that. The Climate Justice movement is for everyone.

We do try to make it pretty intersectional. The movement is quite diverse. We don’t just have left leaning people. We have right leaning people and centrist. We have everyone. That’s one of the reasons we’ve kept it nonpartisan – to ensure that as many people as possible can relate and connect with the issue and get on board.

What have been the cool, helpful, effective ways that adults have helped you

Firstly, by giving us space and letting us do our thing and not encroaching on that space.

And then secondly, engaging in conversations about how they can help and really listening to young people and the team. Our adult supporters currently support us by reaching out to adult institutions like unions and workplaces. And so that’s the area that adults are working in now, because they’re best positioned to be effective in that area.

Have there been examples of adults getting in the way?

Not really. The adults who have supported School Strike 4 Climate have been really respectful with how it’s meant to be youth led.

Do you have any advice for young people looking to drive change?

I would advise… to make sure that you’re really using the platform for good. That you’re opening it up to people who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to share their perspective. As a youth movement, our generation is so diverse, and we really need to be making sure that we’re providing a platform for all youth.

Photo taken at the School Strike 4 Climate - March 15 2018

One of the themes of the protests has been the language used to describe what young people are doing, and what they’re achieving. From negative comments about how young people aren’t qualified to be in this space, to patronising supportive. How has that been for you?

That irks me. I think that young people are inherently quite active. They are passionate. But I guess we’ve provided a platform for that to be more visible.

A lot of the language being used in the lead up to the Strike attacked young people for being young. Are you seeing that as well?

Yea definitely. That’s a point that was highlighted a lot in our networks. And we saw that as a win. They’re not rebutting our demands. They know we’re right. They’re just launching this ad hominem attack that are just fallacious and wrong.

I think it highlights how opponents of climate action really have no grounds to stand on. Everything that we’re saying, all the concerns we’re highlighting have been highlighted for years by science, and by people who are actually proper experts in their field.

I think it’s a cop out. A flaky way to try to undermine the movement. I don’t see how anyone can take it seriously, and I don’t think it’s going to drive anyone away from the movement who wasn’t already against it.

But on the other hand, you might notice that Greta refers to herself as a kid or a child. And while language like that coming from other people is infantilising, it’s part of our movement that we are in a powerless position, we are asking you to step in and do something. We’re using our position - as kids and children, as people who can’t vote and are vulnerable and rely on you – to bring change.

What do you say to people that think young people aren’t qualified to speak in this space?

I think that’s a very dangerous argument. We shouldn’t need any qualification to ask for change. It’s antidemocratic. It’s wrong for them to suggest that young people aren’t qualified to give an opinion on things that will affect them.

Photo taken at the School Strike 4 Climate - March 15 2018

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 A massive thank you to Doha for spending the time to talk to us about her experiences driving change, and the work she’s doing for School Strike 4 Climate.

To read more from us about the importance of getting language right when we discuss the political and democratic actions of young people, click here.

YACSA’s position on the School Strike 4 Climate is simple. We support any movement, campaign or action in which young people are driving change about issues that they are passionate about. Young people have a right to be involved in decisions that affect their lives.

The Adelaide Global Climate Strike will be on September 20. To get the details and to get involved, click here.

Caitlin's story - from education to employment

When we talk about employment and unemployment, we can fail to acknowledge the difficulties and challenges young people face in the transition from education to employment. That transition is not always seamless, and it can lead to pretty intense hardships for young people.

Caitlin is a young person who went through that transition and experienced setbacks along the way. She sat down with YACSA to discuss her story, where she unpacks her experience finishing Uni, being rejected for positions, how she responded, and what lessons she learned.

At the end, she talks about the lessons she has for young people and, importantly, lessons for employers.

Let's go!

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Chapter 1 - University

I WENT TO UNI BECAUSE, WELL, THAT’S WHAT YOU DO.

I was a strong academic performer at high school so Uni seemed the logical next step. I studied a double degree in Arts & Music. I grew up playing music and went to a special interest music high school, so for me, doing a Music degree was something I felt I should do rather than something I really truly wanted to do. The double degree structure meant that I could study things that I was interested in like politics, international relations, psychology, history – all the subjects I was good at when I was at high school.

I figured it would give me a well-rounded skill set in terms of critical thinking, analysis and writing, which it did.

But I didn’t go in [to Uni] knowing where I would end up. I knew I wanted to work in something related to humanities, social service or community work, but I didn’t have a specific career in mind.  

AS I NEARED THE END OF MY DEGREE, I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT…

I spent a month in Thailand doing some volunteer work, which I have very mixed feelings about, knowing what I know now about volun-tourism. But I do credit it with really opening my eyes up and actually helping to define the path I wanted to take.

After getting back from that trip, my focus on my Arts degree changed to development studies, and looking at poverty, international relations and humanitarian aid, that sort of thing.

So at that point, I knew community work, and specifically international aid work, was the direction I wanted to go in after completing my degree. But I soon found out that an undergraduate degree isn’t enough to get you into that. It’s a very competitive and tightly held sector and it’s difficult to get your foot in the door somewhere like Adelaide – there are no NGOs really based here. It would have required a postgraduate degree and interstate relocation.

BY THE END OF FIVE YEARS I WAS PRETTY EXHAUSTED STUDY-WISE.

When I first started Uni I thought I might do postgraduate study, but by the time I got to the end of five years I needed a break, and I was keen to get out into the workforce and earn some money, and start becoming independent.

At the end of the five years, I decided that was enough for me for now. During my last semester I did an exchange program and studied in Singapore.  For me, that was a nice finale to my study.

Chapter 2 - REJECTION

I had a reality check.

The pathway that I intended to take, and that many of my friends intended to take as well, was to secure a graduate position in the public sector. Once I returned home from my exchange, I applied for a number of those programs and got further in some than others. Some I got knocked out right in first round, and there was one that I got through to the final round and got pipped right at the end.

It was a good wake up call for me. Applying for national programs really woke me up to the fact that you can have a good GPA and be a great performer, but so are tens of thousands of other young people around the country. I thought I would make it through the first few rounds without any hassles, but I was getting knocked out right at the start.

IT HIT MY SELF-CONFIDENCE A LITTLE BIT.

It made me realise a lot of other young people performed above and beyond anything I did at Uni, and that making yourself stand out in a pool of really smart, enthusiastic young people was a challenge.

I continued to keep my eye on the job market, but there weren’t many positions out there for young people straight out of Uni. Every job I looked at that I was interested in required a certain level of experience, but as a new graduate I didn’t have that experience.

You put your CV together as well as you can, really trying to sell up transferable skills, enthusiasm, the desire to learn, the ability to learn quickly, all that stuff, but if you don’t have experience it’s really difficult.

I was applying for basically any job that I could foreseeably do, whether I was interested in the work or not - and I was getting knocked back from those as well.

“I did find my morale suffered pretty quickly. It only took a few months to feel pretty ground down by the whole process.
”

I WISH I HAD KNOWN THAT THE STRUGGLE WITH THE JOB SEARCH EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD WAS ACTUALLY VERY NORMAL.

I wasn’t surrounded by a lot of people who were going through the same thing at the same time. But in the years that have since passed, when I speak to people I hear this story a lot - of people who graduate and try to find work but just don’t have a lot of success.

It would have been comforting to know that the experience is actually really normal and something that a lot of other people go through. At the time that might have helped me not to feel as much of a failure as I did for a few of those months where I was thinking, ‘what have I done?’ and ‘what is going wrong?’

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Read our story on why the narrative around youth unemployment needs to change

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Chapter 3 - Getting the job

 

I was offered a lifeline.

My cousin lived in New York with her husband and two-year-old son. I think they knew that I was struggling and getting worn down by the job hunting process. They asked me if I wanted to spend the summer in New York with them, helping to babysit their son. They offered to pay for my flights and get me over there, and basically said “we’ll need you a couple days of week, but beyond that you can do what you like.”

Looking back on it now, that offer was a real saviour, because it allowed me to leave behind the frustrating process of looking for a job, and I was able to go and spend three months in New York, just walking and exploring.

The change of environment really helped me. I found that good for my mental health and wellbeing at the time.

And it was actually there that I saw a vacancy advertised at a Non-Government Organisation back home. I applied, got shortlisted and was asked to interview. I had to explain I was in New York.  The recruitment manager was really flexible and offered to do my interview over Skype. It was a bit awkward with the time difference but we managed it. I was nervous, but by that point I was pretty well practised with interviews because I’d been going for so many jobs.  The interview went well and I was asked to do a second interview with our State Manager, which I also did over Skype. I was then told that I was successful in getting the job, which was a huge relief for me.

So I got home, had one week to buy a car and get everything sorted out and then started my new job the next week.

NOW THAT I’M WORKING, THINGS HAVE REALLY CHANGED.

It’s been really, really good. I’ve been with the NGO for four years now. Deep down I knew I was always capable; it was convincing employers to take a chance on a new graduate with no experience.

Working has been great; I’ve gained so much. Being a new graduate, you go into your first job like a sponge, and you’re so keen to prove yourself. I felt so grateful that finally someone decided that I had the skills necessary.

IT WASN’T ALL EASY.

I know everyone has to start somewhere, so I did deal with a 2-2.5 hour return commute each day which was pretty painful, but I was not going to turn the job down because of that. I’m so glad that I took that job because it gave me experience working in a community that I had previously been totally unfamiliar with, and the learning that came out of working in that community I’ll take with me for the rest of my life. 

I TOLD MYSELF - "I’M GOING TO DO THE VERY BEST I CAN TO BE A HIGH PERFORMER IN MY ROLE".

I really have to credit that hiring manager with taking a chance on me, because I’m sure there were a lot of other strong candidates for the role. After being given that chance, I really tried to give back to my organisation and prove to them that they made the right decision hiring me

Chapter 4 - Advice

YOU’RE NOT ALONE, AND THAT’S PROBABLY WHAT I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE KNOWN AT THE TIME.

I don’t have any pearls of wisdom on how to avoid the situation I was in, because I think it’s increasingly becoming the norm. It’s something that many young people are going through, and will continue to go through if unemployment rates stay as high as they are. I don’t think I can offer a life changing tip or strategy. The best advice I can give is to put yourself out there as much as you can. At the time, I didn’t realise the power of networks and relationships. When you’re young it can seem really intimidating, but I recommend researching organisations that you’re interested in and seeing if you can connect with someone who works there over coffee. Just having a chance to chat and find out more about their personal career journey and what it took to get into their organisation is incredibly helpful. Knowledge is power, so if you are proactive and get out and talk to as many people as possible, that can only help you. I’ve learnt that so much of getting jobs is about who you know.

So put yourself out there, volunteer, get out and help in your community, and connect with as many people as you can. This is my best advice for any job seeker. 

TAKE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES, BECAUSE IT IS HARD.

I tried so hard to prove myself when I got my job. I felt that I needed to show people that I might be young and inexperienced, but I’m a go-getter and I do have the skills it takes to succeed. Once you’ve got your foot in the door, you can prove that, and you can build your reputation within your organisation which makes future steps a lot easier.

Job-specific skills can be taught. If somebody is a fast learner and willing to dive in and sink their teeth into a role, there’s no reason they can’t perform well.

THERE’S AN IMPORTANT LESSON IN THIS FOR EMPLOYERS.

New graduates are so eager to prove themselves and show that they are capable. That’s a quality that all new graduates bring to the workplace, and I don’t think that’s noticed or acknowledged enough. Young people really want to do a good job: they’re enthusiastic, and they just need someone to give them that chance.

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**Special thanks to Caitlin - thanks for the awesome interview, and for sharing your story with others!**

If you have any thoughts, ideas or stories of your own, let us know in the comment box below.

Emily's story - Work for the Dole

Emily had a plan after finishing high school. She was going to work to save money so she could support herself through University.

Three years, 720 job applications and 4 interviews later, Emily is still looking for work.

Emily’s transition from high school to paid employment hasn’t gone as she hoped.

In this chapter, Emily talks about her experiences with Work for the Dole.

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So I did my Work for the Dole at an Op Shop

I had to work 25 hours a week for six months for basically $10 a week – I got an extra $20 a fortnight on top of my youth allowance.

The [charity op shop] was an eight minute walk from where I live. The tasks I had to do were: clean all the dressing rooms, clean the store, work the till, do the money handling (which I was not supposed to do, but my manager did not care), dealt with customer complaints & refunds (which once again I was not supposed to do), and I was almost always the only one on the floor, so had to do all this by myself.

At one point I was sorting hats, bric-a-brac and jewellery out the front while I was serving everyone while at the same time I was supposed to be cleaning the store.

There was just a general disinterest for my wellbeing.

I felt like I was being treated like a slave.  Especially after he [manager] told me that people who were casual staff for [charity op shop] were getting laid off because work for the dole was taking their jobs. And good people were losing their jobs. We had casuals come in every Saturday - It used to be a different person every week but then it was just the same person and I asked what was up and they were like “there’s none of us left”.

I worked as hard as a normal employee, had the same responsibilities as a normal employee, but I didn’t have the same rights as a normal employee.

Everything was fine in the first two weeks, but after that I didn’t get a break for like at least two and a half weeks.

The manager took breaks whenever he wanted. There were other volunteers who weren’t from Work for the Dole - if they had a little inconvenience at work they would be like “I’m going home” and they would be allowed to and I would have to pick up all their work.

I almost had to beg from my break every day. I worked there five days a week for five hours, and because I was the only one on the floor I had to almost beg for a break.  I worked 12pm to 5:30pm every day, sometimes it would get to like 4:30pm and I still hadn’t had lunch, and I would be asking and he [manager] would be like “well it’s almost home time do you really need it?”.

Because I was the only one there, people would steal something from the other side of the store and I wouldn’t be able to see, but it was my fault.  

They did not care.

“Some customers would scream abuse at me because they wanted a discount - and I would have to take it ‘cos I was the only one there.”

There was no one I could really talk to.

I told my job provider worker everything and they were like “oh that’s awful” and then did absolutely nothing.

There was this other work for the dole person at [charity op shop] and he has a really bad back injury from previous work which is why he can’t get hired, cos you know you get injured at work- it’s over. He can’t stand up for an extended amount of time, but the manager was just like “oh you’ll be fine”. He hasn’t worked in there for three weeks because he’s been in hospital.

And the job provider was also like “you’ll be alright, it’ll be fine”. Basically their [job provider] attitude was ‘if it’s not fine, it will be’. It was terrible.

You can add these new skills and experiences to your resume, but it’s still not enough to help you get a job.

It’s why I’ve actually had to continue [volunteering] at the [charity op shop] to try and bring that [experience] up. It’s still the same, but now I can go home when I want because I’m no longer on Work for the Dole, but the manager still treating like I am. So whenever I go to go home he’s like “no you’re not allowed to” and I’m literally told not to leave. I still don’t have the same rights as volunteers. I’ve been at the [charity op shop] for 7 months.

I don’t have to do another Work for the Dole program for six months, then I have to start again, which I’m not looking forward to because once you’ve done the first one you know what to expect and what you have to expect is not fun.

I’m dreading it.

Now work for the dole is over, I’m basically doing the same thing as before - applying for 20 jobs a month.

I’ll tell you the worst thing that happened…

At Work for the Dole, this girl came into the shop, I’d had known her from previous experiences. She came in and straight to counter and started screaming at me, to the point where everyone in store was staring; I was terrified, in tears and about to fall onto floor in terror. When she finished and walked out of the store - I was distraught.

“I walked out the back to my manager, tears flowing down my face, I was snotty, I was obviously in a very bad place. I asked manager to take a break. He said “it’s not my problem” and sent me back.”

I tried to explain the situation and he said he’s not interested in knowing, that my personal life none of his concern. And I was like, this is not personal life anymore, this is work - it’s not even work it’s volunteering.

There were times where I definitely felt unsafe.

There have been people who generally want a massive discount on stuff and when I say no (because I’m not allowed to) they scream, throw things, and one person grabbed my hair.

Then there have been other times, when I’ve asked customers whether they need help or something and they’ve been blatantly rude - it’s not as bad but it’s still not great. They’re probably having a bad day, but so am I. And I’ve had people just be rude - it’s not fun to work at especially when you have to deal with it all of it yourself as your manager doesn’t give a [expletive] .

It's just six months of crap basically.

It needs to be fixed...

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Again, massive thanks to Emily. Keep tabs on Our News to see the rest of her story, and to see what we have to say about employment, unemployment, and what needs to happen moving forward.

If you have any thoughts or opinions, let us know below.

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Read our story on why the narrative around youth unemployment needs to change

Emily's story - Here's what Jobactive is really like...

Emily had a plan after finishing high school - she was going to work to save money, so she could support herself through University.

Three years, 720 job applications and 4 interviews later, Emily is still looking for work.

Emily’s transition from high school to paid employment hasn’t gone as she hoped. Here’s her experience…

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I’ve been trying to find a job for three years.

I started doing job search with a job provider three years ago. Basically, what they’re supposed to do is help you find a job and you’re supposed to apply for 20 jobs a month, every month until you get a job. I started that when I was 18, and still going.

I’ve got to go there once a week for job searching, and once a month for a person to person interview.

“I had an appointment this morning and they literally just said “they’re a no jobs left”. It was crushing to be told that.”

For ‘Job Club’, they cram 15 people in a small computer room and I have to sit at a computer for 2 hours and apply for jobs you’ve already applied for that you’re not even qualified to work - because there are no other ones and you just have to meet the 20 per month. You have to do an application form for each one.

I applied for some [jobs] and then they [job service provider] applied for some for me, which is nice but they don’t really take in your best interest.

Job Club is depressing and germy, because at least one person in that room is sick.

I have to go there to search for jobs, even though I have way better internet at my house and I don’t have to wait for 10 minutes for a screen to load.

There is no privacy at all, like if you’re in the computer room everyone can see what’s happening on your computer. It’s just an open door to the floor where we can feel free to go out and ask questions, but we don’t feel free at all. They get paid to sit and look over at us struggling.

 If you’re in the office space, I can see every worker and I can hear everyone’s conversations. At one point I accidentally heard someone’s password for their email.

I’ve had five different job provider workers in three years.

My [job service provider] worker has changed quite a few times. If they can’t find enough people jobs, then they lose theirs. As soon as a job interview doesn’t work out for me they get insanely upset at me because their job is on the line then. There’s no jobs left, so sooner or later all of them are going to lose their jobs as well.

I’ve had five workers over the last three years. My current worker, I’ve had her the longest but she hasn’t really done anything. The only thing that is different about her is that when I go in for interviews we actually have a conversation and she treats me like a human. Which I never knew should be something that’s rare. When I’m having my interview, there are people around me having their interviews too, and the other workers aren’t treating these people like they are humans.

They’ve sent me to the same training course three times

They [job service provider] sent me to a RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) course, and then a few months later they sent me to another RSA course and then I went to another RSA course, and then I did a barista course because it was part of a RSA course. They just want me to be able to serve alcohol. With one of the RSA courses, there was a gaming aspect so I can be a gaming attendant, but it still hasn’t done anything. At one point during the course, a close family friend died and I asked to have the day off, but they said I would have to come back next week and repeat the whole course.

“So I came in and was just like sitting there all course weeping to myself.”

They don’t care whether you’re a good fit for the job, they just want you to work.

They [job provider] apply for jobs on your behalf, and only contact you once they have confirmation of a job interview, if you’re like “that doesn’t work for me”, they are like “too bad, make it work”.

They [job service provider] don’t care if I can get home at the end of the night or not. They applied me for a job where it was being a waitress from 4 in the afternoon to 3 in the morning. I was like “but that’s not near my house, the buses stop how am I supposed to get home” and they were like “you’ll find a way”.

So I called the place and cancelled the interview and the job provider got mad at me for that, and I was like “but I can’t do that job”. They [job service provider] got mad because I didn’t do the interview.

I got a job interview for a place that I didn’t apply for in Victoria. I got an email about that. I didn’t do it.

I’ve lost faith that they’ll be able to help me find a job

The first month I was there it was just a course that I had to do, where they taught you what to wear at an interview, basic job seeking stuff, how to write a resume’, work ethic. I was like, this is fine, I know most of this it’s general knowledge.

Then I went to job club and was like hang on we have to sit in a room and apply for jobs online. They don’t want you to actually go in person- they say that’s a terrible method of getting employed. There just sit in the room, look up websites like ‘Indeed’ and ‘Seek’ and eventually you might get something… maybe… not really.

If I don’t apply for the 20 jobs I get a demerit point. We have 5 demerit points, if I: show up late, don’t show up at all, miss an appointment, come late to an appointment, don’t fill in my 20 job applications, fill in the 20 jobs late, and there’s more… Then I will get a demerit point, if I get five my Centrelink we’ll be suspended. But it’s renewed every 3 months.

“I once had to scroll to page 20 before I found something I hadn’t already applied for. And all the jobs before that - all rejected.”

I’ve done 20 applications a month for three years, it equals 720 applications.

Through those 720 applications, I’ve been on four interviews in three years.

720 applications, 4 interviews over 3 years.

There are no jobs.

I feel like I’ve been set up to fail.

Looking for jobs is almost a full time job, and I only get paid $295 a fortnight - I don’t live.

I don’t have control of my life. I’m not allowed to have a life outside of looking for jobs. The things that I do that I enjoy like editing videos and the doing the whole performing arts thing and trying to look into studying which they supposed to be helping me with - every time I bring it up I get shut down. It doesn’t matter to them, because it’s not a job. So I shouldn’t be doing that - I should only ever be looking for jobs and if I get a job I should only ever be working.

They make you feel guilty for having fun, and they pressure you to give up what makes you happy. It can be soul crushing.

When people say “just get a job” I want to know when the last time they applied for a job was, because if they think it’s that easy - they should quit their job and go find another one, and see how much shit they are put through, because if they were in the same situation we’re in, they’d would be angry at the people telling them to get a job.

“It is not easy, anyone that says it’s easy obviously doesn’t know the situation, and anyone who doesn’t know the situation shouldn’t have an opinion.”

 

A job would mean that I would be able to live.

A job would mean stability, being able to eat more than $2 curry (that’s all I can afford), actually being able to go out with my friends instead of saying sorry I’ve got a family thing on, when in reality I can’t afford it. They don’t know, out of all my friends only two for them know that I’m on Centrelink.

It would allow me to not have to worry about what I’m going to have for lunch that week, I wouldn’t have to worry about bus tickets, because I’d always be able to put money on my card. I wouldn’t have to worry about so many things like the price of text books, or a lap top that I could use.

There is hope, but I can’t rely on the government.

I figured I can’t rely on [job service provider] anymore, so I’m going to start studying. They’re supposed to help me start studying, which they are not doing at all - they are not taking me seriously when I say I want to do it. I’m trying to find a STAT test slot- which there are not many, as soon as I can get it, I can go do it- see if I can get into my course. There is hope, but I can’t rely on the government. They’re not doing enough for me so I have to take matters into my own hands.

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Again, massive thanks to Emily. Keep tabs on Our News to see the rest of her story, and to see what we have to say about employment, unemployment, and what needs to happen moving forward.

If you have any thoughts or opinions, let us know below.

Read our story on why the narrative around youth unemployment needs to change

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SUSTAINABILITY - WHAT'S IT TO YOU?

We had a young person come in and do PLP work experience. We asked her to write a story about an issue that she is passionate about. Here's her story!

**Ideas, words and posters in this piece were created by Riley, a student on PLP Work Experience at YACSA**

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THE INTRO

You’ve probably heard other people (news reporters, parents, teachers and the occasional friend) talking about our world and what’s wrong with it. From discrimination and equality to climate change, economic crisis and Donald Trump, there’s a wide range.  One thing that doesn’t get talked about (a lot) is sustainability.

Sustainability is the act of sustaining something, or being able to keep the quantity of something at the same level. Sustainability can be divided into 3 categories; Economical (how it affects business, mainly jobs and employability), Social (the legislation of human health protection, e.g. from pollution, and its awareness) and Environmental (protecting the environment, e.g. trees or natural resources we use to survive).

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

THE GOAL

Now for some of the, somewhat boring stuff, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development discussed and developed a set of 17 goals. The goals grew out of the Millennium Development Goals which declared success in reducing global poverty but still acknowledging there was a lot more work to do.

Some of the goals are:

• Sustainability including the health of land, air and sea.
  

• Ending poverty and hunger.
  

• Sustaining economic growth while promoting jobs and stronger economies.

You might be wondering why this would matter. Well, sustainability is a problem now, and has been a problem for a while now. As the future of humanity, we need to tackle every global problem individually and immediately. If nothing is done, our resources will die out e.g. electricity, food, water, oil and gas, coal and trees. We should focus on the bettering of world so we, as a species, and other species can continue to live before it’s too late.

SO WHAT CAN OUR GOVERNMENTS SO RIGHT NOW?

Here are the details on 4 systems or plans that have changed how we take care of our planet.

1. Plastic Bags pollute the environment, endanger animals, and litter our communities. So, some governments have banned the bags. For example, Queensland’s government has decided to minimise litter and pollution, while reducing the impact on wildlife. They’ve banned the supermarket bag. Now, shoppers are recommended to keep reusable bags, instead of single-use bags, in their car as preparation because they’re going to need them when they shop.
   

2. Sweden’s also making a change with their recycling revolution. They sort their waste in 10 ways: combustible (the things that catch fire easily e.g. toothbrushes or dog poop), food waste, glass, plastic packaging, paper packaging, metal packaging, papers and electronic waste. They also have hazardous waste and then landfill bins for anything left over. They’ve managed to recycle 99% of household waste and 50% of all their rubbish is also burnt into energy.
   

3. South Australia’s plan of attack has been happening for over 40 years now, and it all begins with 10 cents. The idea is that every time someone brings a can or bottle to be deposited, they receive 10 cents. If the container can be deposited, companies are to put a 10¢ on the label or bottle itself. People collect all their bottles overtime then bring them in for their cash reward. Around 580 million containers are collected every year. So, SA turns away 80% of the recyclables from landfill meaning they have the lowest amount of drink containers mixed with litter in the country (only 2.9%).
   

4. One of the leading countries in clean energy is Iceland. They’ve come a long way since the 1970s, when they mainly relied on fossil fuels. Iceland focuses on hydro energy, which uses water to make energy, and geothermal energy, which is energy in the form of heat captured from the steam or hot water in the ground. The country now relies purely on domestic renewable energy sources.

AND WHAT CAN WE DO, RIGHT NOW?

Here are 21 things we can do to keep our homes sustainable. Then, from our homes we can build up to our communities, suburbs, cities and states, until finally we reach global sustainability.

 

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Here are some useful links!

• https://www.environmentalscience.org/sustainability

• https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/live_more_sustainably.html

• http://www.thegoodshoppingguide.com/funniest-sustainability-memes-part1/

• https://www.pawshake.com.au/blog/sustainability-and-pet-ownership

• https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/assets/documents/pollution/management/waste/plastic-bag-ban-factsheet.pdf

• https://sweden.se/nature/the-swedish-recycling-revolution/

• https://www.affarsverken.se/Documents/Renhallning/Sorteringsguiden/Sorteringsguide_engelsk.pdf

• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-01/sa-container-deposit-scheme-leading-nation-for-40-years/8156298

• https://unchronicle.un.org/article/iceland-s-sustainable-energy-story-model-world