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Katrina making waves in Adelaide

 

UN Youth Australia’s National Conference 2018 “The Future of Democracy” meant that more than 150 of Australia and New Zealand’s most well-spoken and politically engaged youth united to discuss global issues and engage with possible solutions. Held in Adelaide, this week-long event is Australia’s largest annual residential youth conference and is consistently recognised by the Australian government as Australia’s premier conference for young people.

Each of the seven states and territories of Australia as well as New Zealand sent a delegation consisting of high school students and university students who operated as the facilitators of the conference. New Zealand’s delegation included eight high school students and three facilitators.

Residing at Immanuel College, a boarding school in Adelaide, delegates awoke every morning to a roaring snare drum and jingling tambourine. The substance of the days consisted of speakers, workshops, IPS, Committee debates and General Assembly debates.

“During this time, I learned so much about national and international democracy through such stimulating discussions with some of the smartest and most politically focused youth from around Australia and New Zealand.” – Amy O’Brien, delegate of New South Wales

The speaker sessions covered the topics of “How well is our Democracy functioning?”, “Mechanics of Democracy” and “The Media and Democracy”

The workshops allowed for the delegates to critically engage and discuss with others on “The Future of Democracy.” The workshop sessions were titled “Introduction to Democracy,” “Democracy in Action,” “Democracy in International systems,” “Challenges to democracy in developing states” and “Challenges to democracy in Australia.”

Interactive Problem Solving (IPS) places delegates in real-world situations where they represent a country or group relevant to a particular crisis going on in the world. It requires them to engage creatively and hone their problem-solving skills. It allows for them to see through the eyes of people in power, learning the potential consequences of the decisions they take. The two IPS sessions during the week resulted in Catalonia, who was attempting to gain independence, being bombed and the Djibouti government being overrun by the opposing party after they threw a coup.

The Committee debates and General Assembly also known as Model United Nations (MUN) brings everyone together to debate and negotiate resolutions. A MUN, as the name suggests is a model of the existing UN Assembly where delegates put themselves into the shoes of their allocated countries, debating from their perspectives. The Committee debates, set in the halls of Adelaide University, split delegates into the Disarmament and Security Council (DISEC), the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – three of the main organs of the United Nations. Here, they debate on topics relevant to both the theme and the work of these councils in real life. The General Assembly, set inside the Parliament House of South Australia, culminated in delegates working together as a chamber to come up with a detailed solution to international resources disputes. Notes were passed around with countries asking each other their stance on the resolution and possible amendments to this resolution. Wholesome notes of encouragement were also passed around, particularly when someone had stood up to speak.

Aside from the political banter, their day’s incorporated scavenger hunts, merry witty games, Bloc dinners, quiz nights, movie nights and over-protective facilitators who force-fed them water and executed T-poses, essentially putting their lives on the line for the delegates to cross the road. Furthermore, in-depth analysis and disputation took place between the Aussies and Kiwis over who invented pavlova as well as the correct way of saying six, seven and good. And as well, the Aussies astounded the Kiwis with the slew of venomous, deadly and lethal animals they house and the Kiwis astounded the Aussies with the oodles of sheep they house as well as the fact that the majority of them own the same Edmonds cookbook. At the end of their days, they would meet up with their delegations and reflect. The record for the longest-running delegation meeting occurred in this very conference; it wrapped up after a whopping four hours.

The irony of this conference, however, is that more people saw democracy as the best form of government at the start of the conference than at the end. So the question remains: What is the future of Democracy? Keeping in mind, these people aren’t afraid to stray from the norm that is democracy. 

At the closure of the conference emerged forward-thinking, innovative and well-rounded thinkers, speakers and leaders. All these fresh young people feel motivated and eager to contribute, particularly after this event.

“As one of the guest speakers puts it, “No pressure, but you guys need to single-handedly solve all the problems that us baby-boomers leave to you before they destroy the world.” Yeah, thanks for the encouragement!” – Alex Wang, delegate of ACT, founder of The Uninformed Reader

Straying from the hefty side of things, delegates had more points of interests to add to this discussion.

“At the beginning of NatCon you were told that you would find “your people” and that is precisely what happened.” Yolanda Latu, delegate of New Zealand

“From this conference, I have made many incredible friends and I have made so many amazing memories which I’ll cherish forever!” – Matthew King, delegate of New South Wales

“I just wanted to appreciate all the people, who attended the UN Youth National Conference. It has been an absolute privilege meeting awesome people, who have a great mindset and are so passionate about making the World a better place.” – Mohit Khanna, delegate of South Australia

“My emotions are indescribably joyful and sad, and I will forever remember the laughs, the new perspectives, the singing, the hydration, and most importantly the empowering, passionate group of young people who just want to be kind to each other and make the world a better place.” – Abbey Saxon, delegate of Victoria

“These people, the youth of UN Youth, are my people and will always have a home in my heart for they give me hope that the future is in really good hands.” – Amy O’Brien, delegate of New South Wales

“To all the participants, who are now some of my dearest friends. Firstly, you are all so interesting, intelligent and inspiring. Never forget how worthy your individual and combined contributions to the world are, you all have something important to give.” – Jemima Methorst, delegate of Tasmania

The World 10 Years from now: Historians note the great impact of the National Children Pretending To Be Countries Conference 2018.

Katrina Chan

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