YMCA SA Youth Parliament Program

Earlier this year Sev Pretila and Sinchi Faith, both Year 11 IGNITE students, were selected to take part in the YMCA SA Youth Parliament Program. This included a training weekend, a week-long camp and regular committee meetings.  This was an opportunity for young leaders from around our state to come together to learn about public speaking, parliamentary etiquette, bill development and youth advocacy. Congratulations to both students for embracing this opportunity and for representing our school so well.  Also, thank you to Sev for writing the below reflection.

Reflection by Sev Pretila (Year 11 IGNITE

From Sunday 17 July to Friday 22 July, I attended Parliament Week, as part of the YMCA SA Youth Parliament 2022 program. Throughout the week, the bills made by every committee were debated in parliament, while participants engaged in additional activities such as a recreational day and a Government House visit. Whilst my bill was unable to pass, I was able to make numerous contributions and gain valuable insights as a first-time participant of the program.

Prior to Parliament Week, I attended a formal training weekend on 24 and 25 April. This was accompanied by almost-weekly committee meetings leading to the weeklong parliament assemblies in July. During the weekend training and committee meetings, our team was able to come up with several potential ideas which we carefully assessed and deliberated.   We were able to come up with one singular bill incorporating all feasible ideas pitched during the meetings. 

Here are my main takeaways from the entire experience:

Bill Writing

By the time Parliament Week started, the bills had already been submitted, meaning they could not be edited any further. Despite this, I had the opportunity to gain insight from members of other committees about my bill. My experience has also shown the importance of attention to detail, as well as being highly critical of one’s work. 

Public Speaking

Coming out of the Youth Parliament Program, I have become more proficient as a communicator. Throughout Parliament Week, I gained more confidence in speaking in a Parliamentary setting through my interactions with experienced public speakers from different backgrounds and professions, and from the multiple opportunities, I had to do public speaking. From these opportunities, I have notably improved in spontaneous speaking and engaging an entire audience during a speech.

Interactions with others

Due to being in a camp with around one hundred participants, I was able to meet many kinds of people. I was led to learn, understand and respect fellow young people who are significantly different from me. From this, I have been able to make valuable connections and friendships.

Teamwork

Bill making and parliament work require team effort. Each member of every committee has an important role to play. For instance, even if I and the members of the Sports, Arts, and Culture Committee tried our best to prepare our bill, having six members instead of nine took a toll. Having fewer team members present during the sessions than what is required took a toll on our committee. Most importantly, had our three missing members shown up, our bill would have passed because the tie would have been broken and we would even have three additional votes to win instead of merely the much needed one. This is also true in real life as showing up for the team matters a lot.

Other Realisations

Even though our Sports, Arts, and Culture Committee did not pass our bill, there are many takeaways from the entire experience that made it still worth the while. Winning may not be everything after all. Perhaps there are better prospects next time and the lessons learned also make a difference.