MORE than 60 students from across Bendigo took part in the nationwide Schools Summit this week as part of the lead-up to the 2020 Australia Summit in Canberra in April.
Students from Year 7 to Year 12 discussed their thoughts and ideas about a range of areas at Bendigo Senior Secondary College.
Student Elke Holmberg said: “I think it is a great opportunity to be involved actively in the future as it’s the best way to succeed.”
Student Jess Green said: “I want to be an ambassador for the youth of Australia. I want to tell the government what I think because they are determining my future.”
Organiser Kathryn Hamilton from BSSC said  the event was a positive exercise for the students.
“It is an exciting opportunity for our students to discuss the future that they will be living in,” she said.
“The response from students has been very positive.”
The day began with a welcome breakfast in the James King Hall, and an introduction to the day.
Students then broke into smaller groups of where they discussed four of the ten critical areas set out in the summit guidelines.
Ideas and thoughts from the session will be collated and sent back to the government to be used in the Youth Summit, a pre-cursor to the 2020 Australia Summit.