VicSRC Congress 2009

Between July 31st - August 1st 2009 over sixty students representing thirty schools gathered at Oasis Campsite for the 4th annual VicSRC Congress. Congress is an opportunity for high school students from around the state to get together and discuss issues and concerns that are important to them. The VicSRC Congress is also an opportunity to have tons of fun and to meet fellow students who are passionate about having a say and making a difference in their schools and communities.

Each day, Congress members participate in a formal parliamentary-style Congress, where motions are put forward, discussed, amended and voted upon. Decisions from Congress form the basis of the work of the VicSRC Student Executive for the next year. To check out the resolutions from 2009 see the pdf report from this years Congress top left.

The VicSRC Executive was also elected at Congress. Any students wishing to take part in this excellent leadership opportunity should definitely attend Congress in 2010 and be prepared to nominate for election for the following 12 months. Initial offers for Congress are for two students per school.

The VicSRC Congress is happening again in August 2010!

Dates for 2010 VicSRC Congress to be announced shortly so stay tuned!

Congress 2009 - A Student Perspective

Recently I spent a weekend away at the 2009 VicSRC Congress.

For me, this Congress was all about coming together, meeting fellow students, sharing ideas to make ourselves better people and making our SRCs better as well.

Coming into the Congress I didn't really know what to expect to be honest. I did know a little bit about the idea of a congress, and that it was a "mini parliament" type setup and that we were going to meet the Minister for Education, the Honourable Bronwyn Pike MP.

I also found out the main point of coming there was to form the basis of what the new VicSRC Executive was to do for the next 12 months. This was based on what each workshop group put forward, with the formal "congress" part being run over two parts, once on the Friday, and once on the Saturday.

I attended the Congress with one other delegate, Ashlea Columbine; we both attend Lowanna College in Moe, which is in Victoria's Gippsland region, around two hours south-east of Melbourne by car. We were both greeted on arrival by some of the Executive, who basically 'showed us the ropes' - these guys were around for the whole weekend.

The Congress sessions were highly effective gatherings: every side got to speak, everyone had their say, and some great things were put forward by everybody - and some not so great things, but that's what it really is all about - getting everyone's ideas, not just bowing to the one side all the time.

Also during the weekend there was time for personal development. We had sessions where we would explore ways to improve our SRCs and our schools. We looked to the future, and showed what we really wanted in a perfect school. It was great to hear some of the ideas put forward by other students, and some very articulate answers were brought up, including some very 'outside of the box' and forward thinking ideas on show. One particular one that struck me was "good looking teachers"; I'm not sure how that helps, but hey, I'm open to it!

Apart from that, there was also the down time, where we were able to come out of our shell even more. Everyone participated in trivia, which had a bit of a twist to go with it. Later there was Guitar Hero for tragics like me, and a great time to sit out by the campfire, and talk to your fellow Congress delegates.

The weekend at the 2009 VicSRC Congress was great, I made plenty of friends who I still talk to quite regularly, learned a lot about myself and other people. But one thing stood out: the common goal of making our world, our schools and our lives happier and better, not just for the minority, but the majority, which is what we need for tomorrow. As the Education Minister said: "You are the leaders of tomorrow!"

Well done VicSRC Congress, you were amazing!

Ryan Gunn is a newly elected member of the VicSRC Student Executive