The Australian National Youth Round Table (NYRT) is a government initiated
forum trying to get opinions and possible solutions / plans on a variety of
issues (for example
Employment,
Legal) from youth (ages 15-24) from a diverse range of culteral backgrounds. These are then collected and presented to
Members of Parliament (
ie politicians) who then consider what's presented and possibly
implement some of the plans and solutions.
To become a NYRT member you must apply and be accepted based on your credentials, experience and ambitions, goals, etc. etc. Fifty people from throughout Australia are selected so it's not exactly the easiest thing to get into (read: Nigh impossible). Each year, another fifty people are selected, and so the circle of life continues.
Members get a free ticket and free accomodation to Canberra, Australia, where they meet the other members, and then divide themselves up into groups to tackle the various issues. After doing some initial discussion and goal setting, each member returns to their home state to begin their research for their issue.
Groups keep in touch via phone conferences and email and then return to Canberra at a later stage to present their conclusions to politicians.
My personal opinion is that while a fair amount of good probably comes out of this, there is probably also a fair amount of publicity stunts involved for the politicians.
Source: http://www.thesource.gov.au