Young People and Democracy
Young People Imagining a New Democracy is a collaborative project between the Whitlam Institute and the UWS Office of University Engagement, which has been made possible with the generous support of the Foundation for Young Australians.
The project has been designed and developed in collaboration with a number of organisations, in addition to the Foundation for Young Australians, that work with and for young Australians, principally:
Inspire Foundation-Act Now
Vibewire
Youth Action and Policy Association
NSW Commission for Children and Young People
Youth Coalition of the ACT
The recently published project Discussion Paper, Putting the Politics back into poltics; Young people and democracy in Australia, articulates a clear message for our political leaders and policy makers from young Australians: stop considering us 'citizens-in-waiting'; give us the chance to participate in genuine political decision-making; and don't just listen to what we have to say, but show us that you've heard it.
So far three publications have come out of this project, which are all available for download:
Prepared by Philippa Collin, Policy Manager at the Inspire Foundation, August 2008
Prepared by Dr Mike Horsley and Dr Debra Costley, October 2008
Prepared by Dr. James Arvanitakis and Siobhan Marren, PhD candidate, University of Western Sydney, January 2009
