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: Zelda Goodsell

Hello everyone! My name is Zelda Goodsell. I’m a recent high school graduate living in the Wollongong LGA. I’ve been a resident of Wollongong since I was born and because of that, I have been able to see Wollongong change over the past 17 years. I believe there are many improvements to be made around Wollongong that can help improve the quality of life for everyone living here.

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

I want to be a part of the Wollongong Youth Forum because our city’s youth needs peers that they can count on to help improve Wollongong. If you went up to any young person living in Wollongong and asked them what they’d change about Wollongong, every single one of them would have something to say. I want to be one of the people that takes their ideas and turns them into reality.

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

There are numerous big issues facing the young people of Wollongong recently. A lot of these problems are also impacting older generations and our future generations. Right now, young people are scared of the police. Unfortunately, our fear isn’t irrational. As a generation that is almost always connected to the whole world via our screens, we’re able to see the acts of police all around the globe. Sadly, their acts aren’t always heroic. In Wollongong, we really need to focus on healing the relationship between youth and police. Young people need to know that the police are there to help them and not hurt them. For the wellness of the older generations, the current youth, and future generations, we need to improve the police-youth relationship so that we all feel safe and secure.

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

If elected into the Wollongong Youth Forum, my one key project would be to focus on healing the police-youth relationship. However, I also want to work with my peers in the Youth Forum to create a generally brighter future for young people all around Wollongong by improving public transport, making out-of-school education more accessible, decreasing litter in the streets, along with creating and maintaining safe spaces for youth.

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