Australia’s Youth Representative to the UN Visits Darwin High School

By teacher Susan Cameron

On Monday 28 May Amos Washington, Australian UN Youth representative visited Darwin High School. He ran workshops for fifteen for over a hundred students and was assisted by Darwin High graduate Sage Waller.

Amos’s role, filled annually by UN Youth Australia in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is to hold extensive, nationwide consultations to engage with and discover the issues that are most important to young Australians. Known as the Listening Tour, the consultation process includes young people and prominent members of the Australian community including MPs and NGO Leaders. In September, Amos will present his findings to the UN General Assembly in New York on behalf of Australian young people, and will report to the Federal Government on the year’s consultations on his return.

In 2018, the central question addressed by the consultation is:

“What would Australia look like if young people had a greater say?”

The workshops engaged the students in sometimes heated discussions about issues such as domestic violence, the role of money in young lives and the generation gap, but overwhelmingly the major issue was seen by the students to be mental health and wellbeing. Students were keen both to see change happen, and to be part of making it happen.

Manal Younus

Manal is an Australian freelance storyteller of East African background who uses poetry, performance and theatre to inspire thought, discussion and possibilities amongst those around her. She is a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist and has performed throughout Australia including at the Sydney Opera House.

On Friday, June 22, she will be presenting a fifty minute performance at a cost of $5 per student, and a one hour specialist workshop for students interested in writing and performing their own poetry at a cost of $11.50 per student.

All classes in the School will be studying poetry in a range of ways in their Semester 2 English courses, so Manal will give students the opportunity to enjoy a live performance of poetry, and be exposed to some poetry crafting and presenting techniques.

The Performance has a limit of 100 students, and the Workshop is limited to 35, so booking early would be wise. The events are advertised on Compass with payment details attached.