On Friday 21 March, 130 South Australian students from Years 10, 11 and 12 gathered at the Adelaide Festival Centre for the 2025 SA SRC Summit to prepare them for the year ahead as advocates and leaders in change.
An initiative of the Commissioner for Children and Young People, the statewide student representative council provides an avenue for young South Australians to create change in their local communities through grassroots campaigns on issues that matter to them most.
The 150 members of the 2024 SA SRC are a diverse group of students representing 42 electorates and 79 schools across South Australia. Students travelled from metro and regional locations as far as Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Hawker and Port Lincoln to attend.
The Summit provided students with the opportunity to meet their fellow council representatives in person to start discussing their plans for their campaigns. Students heard from previous members of the SA SRC who were able to share the details of the work they’d done and provide tips for the incoming SA SRC. To further inspire and encourage them, the 2025 SA SRC heard from a panel of young changemakers and parliamentarians who discussed how young people engage with politics and policy as well as how to create change on a grassroots level.
Emily Jenke from Democracy Co delivered two workshops to the eager student advocates of the 2025 SA SRC to better equip them as activists and changemakers. The workshops focussed on mobilising support for issues and learning how to healthily disagree with others.
As always, the Summit featured young artists to keep the student representatives entertained and engaged. DJ Tyson Grundy-Smith performed a lively lunchtime set, and local band Broken Waves closed out the day with an inspiring performance.
Throughout the remainder of the year, SA SRC members will work across five campaigns identified as key issues in young people’s lives: sustainable school canteens, lowering the voting age within local government elections, improving relationships and sexual health education, developing a diversity audit tool for schools, and encouraging schools to take a greater focus on environmental sustainability.
You can keep up to date with the SA SRC campaigns on Instagram and via Hub.
