TIGblogs - Michelle

I attended the YACfest 03 today in South Australia, which saw over 240 young people representing Youth Affairs Councils from around the state meet to network, share information and debate the topic of lowering the voting age to 16 years.

The conference was impressive and I got to meet a lot of inspiring young people working hard to make a change in their local communities. I got to take part in the "Marketing and Promotions" and "Creating Networks" workshops, which were quite informative and another great opportunity to hear about what young people are doing in their local areas.

The debate about lowering the voting age from 18 years to the age of 16 became quite heated and took up most of the day. It is an issue that is becoming quite prominent at the moment in South Australia, as well as in other Australian states and certain overseas countries, and one of the key issues was whether to make voting from age 16 voluntary or compulsory. A mock referendum was held to determine if the young people attending the conference were for or against the idea of lowering the voting age, with votes indicating a resounding "yes", as announced at a reception with politicians and local government representatives at the end of the day.

All in all, it was a great conference and a wonderful opportunity to get across a youth point of view on a most important current issue - lowering the voting age. I hope I get to catch up with the fantastic people I met there soon!