ARARAT’S Jack Ward has the chance to have his voice heard as a member of the first Victorian Youth Congress.
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Jack became involved after looking for opportunities for young people to have a voice.
“I am a blogger, which means I share my opinion a lot of the time and when I saw this opportunity I knew that this could be another step in not only getting my voice heard, but young people, especially those in regional Victoria,” he said.
The Victorian Youth Congress highlighted the voices of young people and encouraged their involvement in decisions that impact them.
Through his involvement, Jack hopes to gain a deeper understanding on how government works.
“I want to be a journalist in the future and politics is a big part of the industry. It will be great opportunity to see how the government operates and how young people can have their say,” he said.
The Victorian Youth Congress’ first meeting will take place in mid-January.
Jack said the group would address issues raised during the Victorian Youth Summit including mental health, education, employment, housing and homelessness.
“I believe that all these issues are important. The youth can be overlooked a lot and this is a chance for us to speak up,” he said.
Members of the youth congress are aged between 12 and 25 years old and come from metropolitan and rural areas including Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Nagambie, Ararat, and Gippsland.
While Jack will be working as part of the group, he hoped to offer a voice for regional youth.
“Personally mental health and education are key areas for me and I see how people are effected by these things in regional Victoria,” he said.