Youth Decide & Youth Forum

2009-09-14T16:29:00.000+10:00

This is not the first I have heard of this, but on the ABC Breakfast News this morning they were talking about Youth Decide (www.youthdecide.com.au). This is a chance for youth to have their voices heard on climate change and have their opinions taken to the UN. While I am not overly passionate about environmentalism, I believe that we need to do something about the changing climate.
As important as the climate issue here is the fact youth are finally being heard on issues which affect them. This opportunity is for people 12 to 28 and seems to be quite serious, as opposed to past attempts at voicing the opinions of youth, which have largely been a facade with little or no follow-up action.
Another program empowering youth's voice is the Government's Australian Youth Forum (www.ayf.gov.au), which advises the Hon. Kate Ellis, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth and the Minister for Sport, on issues affecting Australian youth. The group consists of young people active within their respective communities and this forum's ideas have been actively taken on board by the government.
The youth movement is gaining power, but there is still work to be done. There are still unheard voices which need to be listened to.
Be heard!

About me and about this blog

2009-09-11T23:16:00.001+10:00

This blog is to raise awareness of issues in the lives of the youth in society. I was prompted to create this blog when I fell victim to a cyber-bullying attack. It was quite (very) mild, but it got me thinking that there are people my age who get this all the time and at a much worse level, so I decided to turn my anger into something constructive, ie this blog.

ABOUT ME:
Age: 17
Location: NSW, Australia
Sex: Male
Description: I am very opinionated and incredibly political. I like to think that I can get along with people and am rational but that isn't always the case.

I AM FOR:
gay marriage/adoption rights
a republic in Australia
separation of church and state
compulsory sexual education in all schools (not just "abstinence only")
freedom of speech (so long as it is not used as hate speech or to insight hateful happenings)

I AM AGAINST:
privitisation of NSW electricity assets
abortion**
a Bill of Rights in Australia
torture of any kind. for any reason. ever
the War in Iraq
raising the drinking age
lowering the voting age
non-compulsory voting in elections
English as a compulsory subject in senior education
censorship and Internet filtering

** in regards to abortion, before we all take issue, I believe that it should not be used in the most case as society has grown to a point where we know the dangers of unprotected sex and are able to take precautions to prevent unwanted pregnancy. This being said, I believe that it should still be available and that the woman in conjunction with her partner should be able to make that decision. I believe that at the moment abortion is becoming a form of contraception, which I disagree with. I recognise that it may be necessary, in some cases, to terminate a pregnancy for health reasons, pregnancy from rape and and in some socioeconomic situations. I do support the decriminalisation of abortion in all Australian states.

IF I COULD VOTE:
at the last Federal Election I would have voted Labor.
at the next election, if held now, I would vote for Greens as first preference, Australian Democrats second.

I will talk about all my political views and the issues I believe are confronting youth in society at some point in my blog and will try to update it at least once a week if I can.

Inside the Mind of a Teen

Youth Decide & Youth Forum

About me and about this blog