In September, adult residents voted for Wollongong City Councillors. This week, teenagers are voting at ballot boxes in high schools across the city for representatives on Wollongong Youth Forum, the only one of its kind in NSW.

It's the second year that Wollongong City Council has partnered with the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) to democratically elect a forum for ages 12 to 17 as part of the Young Mayors Program. Polling opened today, November 4 and will close on November 13.

Results will be announced on November 15, after which the 12 teenagers elected will spend a year working with Council on various issues.

Giving young people not only a public voice but a platform to put their ideas into practice is a concept spreading around the world but relatively new in Australia, with only five programs across the country. We gave our local campaigners the chance to share their stories and – just like the mayoral candidates in the recent council elections – each tackled the same questions.

Thanks to Stevie, Sean, Charlie, Fatima, Ethan, Zelda, Mariam, Alyssa, Enerel and Jayden for their replies.

Meet a candidate: Sean McPherson

Hi, my name is Sean McPherson, and I am a year 10 student running for Wollongong Youth Council.

Why do you want to be part of the Wollongong Youth Forum?

Wollongong is a vibrant community that is constantly developing, and I am proud to be a part of it. I want to ensure the current and future youth of Wollongong love it and feel comfortable in it as much as I do, and I believe that I can foster and inspire change to make that happen.

What are the biggest issues facing Wollongong's young people today?

Despite Wollongong being an exciting place for youth, it is limited in some ways such as a lack of diversified employment. You’ll probably know a young person around you who works in a fast food restaurant as their current job, or even maybe their first job – maybe this was you. As for me, I notice a lot of my peers working at KFC, Hungry Jacks and Domino’s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but to me it indicates there is a lack of diversified opportunities for employment amongst young people. Limiting the opportunities that young people experience is unhealthy and can slow down our society from progressing. What makes Wollongong and Australia beautiful is our diversity – cultural diversity, disability diversity etc – but when it comes to employment for youth there is little to none. And I do understand that this is due to a lack of experience, skills and trust, but everyone begins with nothing, and helping foster the next generation is vital to progressing as a community.

If you could deliver one key project in your year, what would it be?

If elected, I’d initiate a network of trusted employers who support young people in a wide range of employment opportunities for part time and casual employment. Through the creation of such a network, young people could experience and work in a variety of different fields, such as retail (shoe stores, phone stores), the F&B industry (McDonald's, KFC), accommodation, finance and insurance, tourism and healthcare. Fast food doesn’t have to be the default option for youth, but instead they could turn to the trusted network of employers in such fields who would be accepting and excited. This is how Wollongong can develop new skills as a community, with a strong youth becoming the backbone for the next big thing of Australia – Wollongong.

Read more candidate Q&As with Stevie, Sean, Charlie, Fatima, Ethan, Zelda, Mariam, Alyssa, Enerel and Jayden

For more information about the Wollongong Youth Forum, visit the FYA website