Day One of the National Forum is complete with Rural Youth Ambassadors having met with Ministers and local politicians to discuss their experiences and journeys as rural young people.
The day began at Parliament House where the Ambassadors met with Minister Tehan, Phil, his chief of Staff and Dominic his advisor. The group shared their stories, ideas and a proposal with the Minister and his staff.
Maddie, Cordy, Tayla and Samantha were part of the group who attended the meeting with Minister Tehan.
“We discussed schools working together, mental health, and after school information,” they said.
“We really valued the passion and support we got from Minister Tehan. His support of Rural Inspire was amazing.”
After this meeting, the Ambassadors met with their respective local politicians. They had discussions about their local areas, and shared with their representatives details of the national forum and their proposals.
Phil Brown, Country Education Partnership’s CEO facilitated many of the meetings throughout the day.
“It was great to see the Rural Youth Ambassadors take up so many opportunities throughout the day,” he said.
“The presentations they made, the relationships they built with local politicians and the response they got from Ministers, was all exceptional,”
The final meeting of the day was with Minister Gee, Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education. The ambassadors again told their stories and proposed their ideas to the Minister.
“We were really happy and honoured for this opportunity and looking forward to the rest of the trip,” they said.
“Minister Gee has asked us to provide more detail about our ideas so he can take it to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment & the National Education Council.”
Rural Youth Ambassadors browsing the Portrait Gallery at Parliement House. Image: CEP.
Rural Youth Ambassadors with Minister Gee at Parliament House. Image: CEP
Ambassadors Jordan, Will and Tayla with their local representative Mr Rowan Ramsey MP. Image: CEP
The day concluded with dinner by Lake Burley Griffin where the group reflected on their experiences of the day.
Cordy Lloyd, a Rural Youth Ambassador from Guyra in NSW reflected on the experience so far.
“In the next few days, we hope to have our ideas circulating around in Parliament House and even for some of these ideas to begin the process of being implemented,” she said.
“This program has also enabled us to find like-minded individuals that share our passion and initiative for providing a better world for young people living in rural Australia.”
Mr Brown was pleased with the outcomes of the day.
“The Ministers asking for Rural Youth Ambassadors to provide documentation of their ideas was a real acknowledgement of the work all the 2020 Rural Youth Ambassadors have done, from all three states.”
0 Comments