2168 Children's Parliament

The 2168 Children’s Parliament is supported by a panel of seven Ambassadors comprising of prominent delegates with political, educational and community influences. The Ambassadors advocate on Parliamentarians’ behalf to influence policies at local, state and national levels to improve the lives of children and their community.

Current members:

• Mayor, Liverpool City Council
• The Honourable Anne Stanley, Federal MP for Werriwa
• Ms Megan Mitchell, former National Children’s Commissioner
• Zoë Robinson, NSW Advocate for Children and Young People
• Delegate from the National Children's Commissioner's office
• Professor Amanda Third, Institute of Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
• Mr Nicholas Magriplis, Director Department of Education, Liverpool Network

The 2168 Strong Children and Communities Project is delivered by Liverpool City Council under the 2168 Communities for Children Programme, a Commonwealth Government Early Intervention and Prevention Initiative. Funding and support for the Project is facilitated by Mission Australia’s Miller Pathways.  Liverpool City Council and Department of Education contribute additional funds towards activities and administration costs.

Project Partners are:

• Department of Social Services – Funder
• Mission Australia’s Miller Pathways- Facilitating Partner
• Liverpool City Council, Community Partner
• Department of Education- Project Partner

Other key stakeholders:

• Western Sydney University
• Parents/guardians of the Members of Children’s Parliament
• Ambassadors
• University of Wollongong
• UNICEF Australia
• Other government and non-government organisations

Communities for Children (also known as C4C or CfC) is an Early Intervention Program funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services which aims to deliver positive and sustainable outcomes for children aged 0-12 years and their families in disadvantaged communities across Australia.

For more information on the ‘2168’ Communities for Children programme visit https://www.facebook.com/C4C2168/

Partnership and collaboration with participating schools is instrumental to the success and continuation of the 2168 Children’s Parliament:

Ashcroft Public School https://ashcroft-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Busby Public School https://busby-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Busby West Public School https://busbywest-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Cartwright Public School https://cartwright-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Green Valley Public School https://greenvalley-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Heckenberg Public School https://heckenberg-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Hinchinbrook Public School https://hinchinbro-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Lurnea Public School https://lurnea-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Miller Public School https://miller-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Sadleir Public School https://sadleir-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Saint Therese Catholic Primary School https://sites.google.com/a/syd.catholic.edu.au/sttsadleir

The Children’s Parliament reflects the demographics of the Liverpool LGA, includes diverse participants with 68% from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, 20% from English speaking backgrounds; 5% Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander; and 7% undeclared.

Workshops

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Responsibilities
• Inclusion and Human Dignity
• The Resilience Doughnut (The Resilience Doughnut is a strengths-based and solution-focused model that helps children, adolescents and adults to identify their strengths to build resilience and competence to face adversity. It helps individuals to navigate the best resources available to them and enables them to take responsibility for their own wellbeing).
• Environmental Sustainability
• Leadership
• Policy and Advocacy
• Parents workshop
• Levels of government
• Speech writing and debating
• Reflection
• research and data analysis
• Consultations on key policies, programs and initiatives by Council, external partners and organisations providing services to children and families

Other activities:

• Police and Safety workshop;
• Visit Australian Parliament House & Museum of Australian Democracy;
• Annual visit to NSW Parliament House;
• Together for humanity workshop
• Interviewing and filming the WOW Festival by children
• Presentation at United Nations Next Gens event at UTS- 4 December 2023
• Presentation to Liverpool hospital staff about ‘keep children in mind when treating their parents at hospital

2168 Children's Parliament sittings:

The 2168 Children’s Parliament holds two Parliament sittings per year in June and November. Children identify matters of importance to themselves and survey their school peers to gain their insights and inform their presentations at the first Parliament sitting of the year in June.  Every year over between 500-800 students participate in the school survey providing the Children's Parliament members with valuable insights about issues impacting their lives and proposed solutions to fix the issues.

Ambassadors have 5 months to advocate for the children to address the issues. Children’s Parliament sits again in November where Ambassadors and Council must provide their advocacy report to the children.

For information on the 2168 Children’s Parliament sitting dates for this year, please contact the Senior Project Officer on 1300 36 2170 or email lcc@liverpool.nsw.gov.au

Issues

The following are a summary of Parliamentarians’ issues and proposed solutions discussed with the Ambassadors Panel:

• Bullying
• environmental issues
• Poverty
• Road safety near schools
• Healthier canteens for schools
• Breakfast clubs for schools
• Child obesity - Cooking classes
• Cultural discrimination
• Translations and interpreters for families - not using children as interpreters
• Age appropriate playgrounds for school age children
• Sport affordability
• Racism and bullying
• Safety
• Unclean natural environment

Proposed solutions

• Teaching anti-bullying at schools through role plays and visuals
• Building a multi-purpose facility at Miller that has a café run by the locals
• Design playgrounds to meet the needs of different age groups (not just for toddlers)
• Improve cleaning and maintenance of parks
• Provide more cultural events and festivals in Liverpool to promote cultural awareness and to promote social harmony
• Engage with Liverpool hospital and invite a nutritionist to visit schools to train teachers, students and parents on healthy eating and healthier food options at canteens
• Nutritionist to distribute educational packages to schools on healthy diet and lifestyle
• Cooking classes for parents and students
• Design a solar farm for the new airport to reduce air pollution
• Increase police presence in places with high crime and violence
• Park landscaping and Maintenance
• information for families about Kids Active Vouchers and make it easier for families to access the vouchers

the 2168 Children’s Parliament is an important consultation mechanism for Council planning and decision making. This includes:

• Woodward Place Master Plan consultation
• McGirr Park consultation
• Name the Crane competition for the new Civic Place

Parliamentarians

The 2168 Children’s Parliament is making a positive mark on the lives and development of the 2168 children.  Below is a selection of comments from program participants

“I now feel like an actual person included, feel more like a leader and I actually represent something”.

“Now I'm proud of what I am and not afraid to be 100% myself”.

“Now I know what my rights are, what to do if they’re not respected, and that they come with responsibilities”.

“I now know that I have rights that can protect me”.

“I dreamed of being a part of the community and making a change for my friends. I become a part of constructing a park, it’s now a place where I go with my friends”.

“I really know more and more about youth advocacy, because I'm in the Children's Parliament”.

“Everyone gets a say no matter how old you are”.

“I now know the true meaning of leadership and what it means to be a leader”.

“I now know my opinions matter”.

“Now since I’m in Children’s Parliament I know more about democracy”.

“Democracy means people’s power”.

“When you make a choice that not only affects you but everyone around you”.

Teachers

“Students had opportunities to present and speak in formal situations that they otherwise wouldn’t have had”. “Students have a greater understanding of the global issues e.g. sustainability as well as democracy. Students enjoyed expressing their concerns re: local park”. 

“The students have taken on a leadership position within the school community and are asking other students about their concerns for the 2168 community. The students have also gained more confidence and they voice their thoughts and opinions more openly”. “The students are building a connection with other students in other schools and discussing issues that they are concerned with. Our school benefits from Children’s Parliament as schools are networking with other schools and making links with the community”.

“I think that Children’s Parliament has played a major role in the development of these students’ leadership skills. They have learnt a great deal but what it takes to be a good leader and how to most effectively do so. They have been given an active role in leadership in their community and this has helped to shape them into better, more confident leaders which has been noticed throughout the school as well.  The students have been able to understand their rights as a child and are no longer afraid to have a voice.  Also the confidence in these students speaking publicly has increased. Some activities have been shared with other teachers to build strategies in classes (spread across kids). This year has been more a ‘trial’ year for us and we have just started to get good at incorporating ideas throughout the school”.

“It has definitely made the students much more confident in public speaking, working with peers not from their own school and meeting with others. Children’s Parliament has also instilled in the students the importance of making their voices heard. For one student in particular she has grown in so much confidence, she has really bloomed.  I think they have become more community conscious. They are more engaged with their local community and making aware of how they can contribute to bring about change”.  In relation to replicating some of the workshop themes within her school, she responded:  “all of the above (Leadership, global issues, local issues, gender equality, inclusion and children’s rights) have been discussed in a variety of KLA’s across K-6”.

“It has allowed them to all be actively involved in open-ended discussions. To speak up without being shy and it has given the students the opportunity to build a rapport with other students from other schools. They are actively involved in deep thought and discussions. Students have matured and taken local issues seriously. They think about things that they can implement or change in our local environment and within the school”.

“They show a greater sense of awareness of the issues in the world around them. The students enjoy attending and have made new/stronger connections with other youth in the area. They are able to communicate more confidently as they regularly discuss at the workshops. After the leadership workshop, the students build on their previous knowledge and can now express what it means to be a leader and how they can lead”.  

Parents

“Her care and concern for the local community has increased dramatically. She is a more confident member of her school community”.

“My daughter has learnt to be more outspoken. She is now more aware of everything around her in the home, school and community. She feels confident knowing that she can make a difference and make changes in the community.  She is showing more concern for the community knowing she can make a difference”.

“He is more giving, more appreciative, values our country, and believes in gender equality”.

“She came out of her shell”.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect- pleasantly surprised. My child shows a greater interest in local and international politics. Children’s Parliament has helped my child build confidence, get involved in the community, and learn good team and leadership skills”.

“My child was quite shy, now she has opened up quite a lot. She is doing a lot of things we didn’t expect her to do before she became a member of the Children’s Parliament. She is more interested in government, issues, more outspoken”.

“He has stopped doubting himself. He is not shy and he developed self-confidence”.

“Has made her think more about the community she lives in”.

“Children’s Parliament has improved my child’s self-confidence by not being shy to speak her mind and what she believes”.

“Has developed passion for civics and politics (esp. around how governments work). She has also displayed a huge boost of confidence with public speaking”.

2168-Childrens Parliament Evaluation Summary

https://www.unicef.org.au

https://www.unicef.org/crc/

https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_96412.html

Home | Australian Human Rights Commission

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

For more information about the 2168 Children’s Parliament contact the Strong Children and Communities Project Officer on 1300 36 2170 or email lcc@liverpool.nsw.gov.au