Important Update for Youth Parliament

COVID-19 announcement re. Youth Parliament 2020 

At the Y NSW your health is our number one priority. In everything we do we seek to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of inspired young people to activate your power. With this is mind, and in response to the increase in COVID-19 restrictions announced by the NSW Government on 23 June 2021, we have decided to further postpone the 2021 Youth Parliament program to the January 2022 school holidays. 

The Y NSW is committed to being the best citizens we can be and doing everything in our power to limit the spread of the virus within the broader community. Youth Parliament is the highlight of our year, so we left no stone unturned exploring how we might still be able to deliver it in the current environment. However, given the highly contagious nature of the Delta variant, we have prioritised the risk to our participants' health and safety in making this decision.

As Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced, people who live or work in the seven affected local government areas – City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside and Woollahra – cannot travel outside of metropolitan Sydney. We cannot, in good conscience, allow our regional Youth Parliamentarians to fly into such an environment with no guarantee of being able to get home, or putting any of our participants at risk of contracting COVID-19 while attending the program.

We know that this will be disappointing news for many, it is hard for us too. But, at this time it’s important that we all stick together and stay positive. To that end, we look forward to welcoming everyone back to Youth Parliament during the September school holidays.

We appreciate that these changes and the ongoing situation may affect the ability of some participants to be involved this year. Here are the options available to all participants:

• Email youthparliament@ymcansw.org.au to opt in or out of the program by midnight, Friday 16 July 2021 
• If you opt-in, we will keep your space in the program and continue to update you 
• If you opt-out, the Y NSW will offer 100 per cent refunds to participants who respond by deadline. Please note, refunds will not be issued for responses after this date. 

The newly proposed program dates are as follows: 

• Residential Camp: Saturday 15 – Saturday 22 January 2022
• Youth Sitting Week: Monday 17, Tuesday 18, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 January 2022

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for Monday 17 January at 9.15am. We will contact all participants and VIP guests closer to the date with a formal invitation to confirm attendance and provide everyone with the full details for the new sitting week.

In the event that restrictions have not eased and we are unable to go ahead with a face-to-face program, it will be delivered virtually on that particular week. 

In the meantime, we encourage everyone to be kind, stay engaged and connected virtually while practicing social distancing. We are all in this together. 

Thank you again for your support and if you would like to have a conversation about Youth Parliament prior to our new sitting dates, please do not hesitate to email youthparliament@ymcansw.org.au.

More information about COVID-19 restrictions can be found on the NSW Government website.

Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time. 

Kind regards

Louisa McKay
Executive Leader, Youth and Community 

It’s important to take good care of yourself and seek out any support you may need during this time. Follow the Y NSW on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for helpful tips and resources to help you cope with COVID-19 and stay well while social distancing. We are all in this together. 

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