Activate

In a healthy democracy, citizens can have a say on matters that are important to them. Voting in an election is one way of doing this but you don’t need to wait until you can vote to participate in civic life. You can start making changes in your community right now!

Get Active

It’s easy to feel like your voice isn’t heard when you’re not yet allowed to vote, but it’s not necessary to feel this way. There are lots of ways you can speak up, and ensure that people listen to what you want to say.

Some ways of engaging in our democracy may seem a bit confronting to you, but don’t worry, there are many different ways that you can speak up or be heard about the issues that you’re passionate about. It’s all about deciding which methods work best – for both you and the issue you’re passionate about.

These activities will provide you with some examples of activism, help you plan and prepare, and give you some tools to get your message out there.

What activism looks like

Planning for action

Event preparation

Spread the word

Taking action

For the first time, students from Waracknabeal college have decided to take an action on school and community based issues.

Being heard

In “Being Heard”, a group of Victorian students explain the challenges they have faced in selecting and working on their chosen issue.

Your Issue, Your voice, Your Say

A group of Year 11 students pull together a petition, gather signatures and present it to their local Member of Parliament.

Case Study: Building a state park

Three friends influence a council into creating a skate park for young people. Does your council have an area where young people can engage either in physical activity or a place they can share ideas? Is this something that is needed in your local area? What would be the impact on young people and the rest of community?

Download Building a State Park JPG | 391 KB

Activation Tips

As taking action on issues can take a while, select an issue that you are passionate about.
Is there anyone else who feels the same way about this issue? Get them on board, they might be able to help.
Your chosen issue must be a community based issue rather than a personal issue!
Know all of the important facts about the issue. Other people will question you as to 'why your issue is important' and 'why it is an issue'. Make sure you know these answers.
Your next step is planning the action!

An event can be anything, from organising a school concert which raises an awareness of your issue, holding a debate, inviting experts to discuss an issue or organising community awareness about an issue. As part of your campaign, you may want to organise a public event. When holding an event, it’s important to consider the purpose of the event and what you’re hoping to achieve from this event. An event could be something large scale like organising a concert which raises awareness, or holding a debate or panel to increase understanding and knowledge about the issue. Be sure to check what is legally required for your event to take place.

In Australia and Victoria, citizens are allowed to organise rallies or protests in public spaces in order to voice their opinion on issues. In order to hold an event (be it small or large) you always need to seek the permission of a person on whose land you are holding an event. This can be an individual, business, local council or state or federal government department. If you are expecting a large number of people, police should also be informed.

Activity Instructions

Read through the case study scenario and review all eight steps.

Drag and drop the THREE steps that these young people should start working on immediately.

Case Study

A group of young people have chosen littering in their local park as an issue. There has been an increase in people visiting the area and leaving their unwanted rubbish, as there are not enough bins and visitors are not taking their rubbish with them. One of their actions is to create a short play in the park which would educate people about littering, especially kids who visit the park and their parents.

Get ready for media: media release, posters and photos.

Write and rehearse the play.

Contact the media (papers and radio).

Write synopsis of the play, its messages and goals.

Contact the council for permission.

Create a list of tasks and allocate responsibilities

Source or make costumes, props and campaign T-shirts.

Organise transport and find an adult to accompany the group.

Drop the 3 correct steps here