Event summary
Constitutional Convention
A whole-day interactive program for Year 11 students exploring the Australian Constitution
- Where: National Archives of Australia, Kings Avenue, Parkes
- When: 9am-3.00pm on Thursday 7 August
- How long: 6 hours with two catered breaks
- How to book: Click here
Constitutional Convention is an interschool program that has students exploring the whether the Australian Constitution should allow territories greater representation in the Senate. It includes a lecture, workshops, and roleplay, where students take on the role of electors to determine the outcome of a hypothetical referendum. Five students are also selected to attend the following year's National Schools' Constitutional Convention here in Canberra.
This is a collaborative program between the ACT Legislative Assembly, National Archives of Australia, Museum of Australian Democracy, Australian Electoral Commission, and ANU College of Law.
About the convention
Registrations begins at 8.45am. The program begins at 9am. The convention has 5 components:
- 9.15am — Introduction to the Constitution lecture
- 10.00am — Workshop on how the Constitution is interpreted
- 10.45am — Catered morning tea
- 11.15am — Workshop on how referendums work
- 12.45pm — Catered lunch
- 1.15pm — Workshop on state and territory representation in the Senate
- 2.00pm — Mock referendum on convention question
This event includes complimentary tea, coffee, and water plus a free catered morning tea and lunch. We're also happy to cater to dietary requirements so long as advance notice is given.
Accessibility
This event is hosted at the National Archives of Australia's Kings Avenue precinct. The front entrance has a wheelchair ramp and all spaces used on-site during the day are accessible - including the toilets.
Book for this program
Bookings for this program are taken via email. Due to limited space, schools can initially nominate up to five students. A teacher must accompany their school group for the program's duration.
Click here to email us your school's interest