How young people do democracy: pausing, questioning, creating and bringing others along with them

Lucy Parakhina/Shopfront The second annual Shopfront Youth-Led Conference rounded out a weekend of activity celebrating the 50th birthday of the Sydney youth arts company with a radical and celebrated history.

Hosted by the Sydney Opera House and entirely curated by the Shopfront Youth Advisory Panels, the day was designed by young people for young people.

Workshops, performances and panels all explored a central theme: “redesigning success”.

A youth-led conference arrives at a pivotal moment in Australian political life.

Concern about declining young people’s participation in formal or traditional civic and political life, and what that means for “social cohesion”, is growing alongside a more sophisticated understanding of how young people are engaging in democracy differently.

Instead of joining existing political parties, young people are engaging in civil and political life through volunteering, community advocacy and local action.

Arts participation plays a crucial role.

The link between the arts, creativity and democracy to build civic capacity is well established .

Arts participation supports children and young people to develop their voice, self-expression and connection with others.

It also helps build resilience.

In the face of uncertain social and political futures, these are invaluable future skills for Australia’s young people.

Transforming ideas As part of the day, I watched TED-Ed, featuring extraordinary young people aged 10 to 18 who had worked with Shopfront for eight weeks to transform their ideas into powerful presentations.

Dan, 14, a “performing arts activist”, told the story of seeing his first show and knowing he wanted to be on stage.

He wants to address financial barriers for young people that limit access to arts participation and seeing live performance.