Year 10 Student, Lumen Christi Catholic College, NSW

I’m from Merimbula, a small isolated tourist destination on the far south coast of NSW. Because of our location, my school didn’t receive the information for Every Voice Counts! until shortly before the cut-off date. I took the application form but on first impressions I cast it aside referring to it as 'Nerd Camp'.

That night I decided to visit the Civics and Citizenship Education website and was immediately intrigued: this was a true opportunity to voice my ideas and thoughts to the Australian Government; this was my chance to make a difference! I wasn’t all that confident that I would be selected for the forum. With only 32 students selected nationwide the odds weren’t that great. I was surprised that, besides me, another student from a neighbouring township had also been selected to represent NSW.

My original perspective of the forum dramatically changed on being introduced to the other representatives. They weren’t 'nerds', they were intelligent students with a passion for politics – but that’s not to say knowledge – just a will to make a change in the system.

We were given this opportunity the very next day, meeting the Hon Julie Bishop, MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training, with the chance to ask questions directly to the person in charge of Australia’s education department.

The entire forum was planned and conducted perfectly by our facilitators, who were awesome. They shared the students’ passion for the political system and gave us all plenty of opportunity to voice our opinions and ideas. They were well prepared for each day’s itinerary, which was jammed pack with tours of the National Museum, the War Memorial, and both the old and the new parliament house.

One of the greatest experiences I will take from this trip will be the cultural diversity I was a part of. And I’m not just talking about different States: the forum hosted students from the following backgrounds:

• Vietnamese
• Turkish
• Papua New Guinean
• New Zealander
• South African
• Indigenous
• Chinese
• Israeli

The most amazing element of these people was the different beliefs, religion and opinions they brought to the forum; just being able to talk to them opened up a whole new area of knowledge, away from my original isolated views on these groups because of my sheltered existence.

I would strongly and independently encourage a range of students from all ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for the 2008 Every Voice Counts! Student Forum. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime – an experience not to be forgotten – which will have an effect that will no doubt last a lifetime. I was lucky enough to be a part of it all.