The Office for Youth Parliament program instigated by the YMCA of South Australia has brought new appeal to the once unfashionable pursuit of high-level debating.

Last week three young local residents were part of a 92-strong contingent of Youth Parliamentarians aged between 16 and 25 who participated in a week-long live-in Youth Parliament.

Cameron Edson of Gawler West, Amanda Lippasaar from Virginia and Jade Lach of Hewett joined participants from across the state at the Rostrevor College Boarding House, Glen Stuart for a week of fun, debating and learning about our parliamentary system.

According to attendee Amanda Lippasaar the experience was a rewarding one which she can recommend.

“I found out about the Youth Parliament through school last year and thought it would be good to become involved this year,” Amanda said.

The week wasn’t just about debating and learning about the parliamentary system.

“For one of the days we took the whole day out and worked on team-building exercises. We got into groups and had chariot races, played tug of war and skirmish.”

Amanda said before the week-long camp began she was involved in a two-day training session which taught speech writing skills and also gave useful insights into the art of good public speaking.

“It was really useful to have the two training days before the camp began. I felt it really helped to prepare me for the week ahead.”

Parliamentary bills were prepared and debated by the Youth Parliamentarians themselves. Bills passed have now been forwarded to the Minister for Youth for consideration and distribution to relevant Government departments.

Participants were drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures and came together to debate a range of issues from human rights to public transport.

Activities during the week included an extensive recreation program, an opening and closing ceremony of Youth Parliament and a formal reception at Government house.

Youth Parliament 2009 is a SACE accredited program. Participants may be eligible to gain credits towards two units of their highschool SACE Qualification.