TWO Gawler & District College students, passionate about having a voice and bringing about change, have been chosen to attend next year’s National Schools Constitutional Convention.

Year 11s Alex Prior and Renee Chamberlain were both apart of the State Constitutional Convention in September, and from there submitted an application – which covered what they would change in the constitution and why – that had them selected for the national event.

Currently planned to be held at Canberra’s Parliament House, on March 24 and 25, the convention will be an opportunity to hear from guest speakers and take part in a mock debate and referendum.

Alex said being involved in the state convention was one of the first times she’s actively pursued learning around politics or parliament, despite it being a topic she is very passionate about.

Her four-minute speech delivered for the state convention was strong on giving young people a voice.

“Luckily the Australian Constitution was made with the intent of it being changed,” she told The Bunyip.

“I spoke about why education should be added to the constitution to become the responsibility of the Federal Parliament rather than State Parliament with a focus on student-led change in the curriculum, and students being able to get their voice heard in what they need to learn and what they need to succeed in life.”

For Renee, the national convention will be an exciting opportunity to explore Parliament House, and brush-up on her debating skills.

Her state convention speech and application was based around the exclusion of territories from national referendums.

“I brought up the issue of Aboriginal people being able to have their say and where most of them reside in Australia,” she said.

“And that we actually don’t need a referendum to change the constitution but we should include them in referendums in future issues.”

Gawler & District College Head of Senior School Angela Karatassa said she believed the national convention would be a great opportunity for Alex and Renee who are both passionate about change for young people

“There are laws within our government that concern both of them,” she said.

“They really want to make a difference and they know that this platform of stepping through quite a mindfield of Australian politics is a start for them.

“Both Alex and Renee are very literate, they write passionately and with conviction, they write to impress and really write to let people know how they are feeling.

“They’ve got great conviction and I’m really proud of them.”

The National Schools Constitutional Convention is an annual event funded by the Australian Government under its civics and citizenship program.

A total of 120 students were selected from around 1000 applications nationally to attend, with just 12 chosen out of the 23 students who participated in the South Australian convention.