Congress is VicSRC's flagship student-led experience which brings together secondary students from across Victoria to unpack ideas and solve issues in the education system. The top ideas, as voted by students, become the focus of VicSRC's advocacy for the next 12 months, spearheaded by the VicSRC Student Executive Advisory Committee.
Congress 2024 was held at Wurun Senior Campus on Friday 13 September 2024. Keep an eye out for the congress report to hear what students had to say!
What to expect
Speak up, spark change
Pitch your ideas for education and vote on the top pitches
Hear the roar of student voice
A one day in person event
We don't make change alone
Work in action teams to unpack ideas and solve issues
How does VicSRC Congress create change?
1.
In 2023, VicSRC worked with students to understand their biggest priorities. This created 2024's Action Teams, which are teams divided into specific focus areas based off of the 2023 Congress report.
2.
At 2024's Congress, students will be part of these Action Teams, and get to deep dive into their focus area, find the major challenges, and come up with interesting solutions!
3.
Following Congress, VicSRC’s student leaders gather everything they learned from students and produce the Congress Report, highlighting the challenges, priorities, and recommendations from Victorian students.
4.
The Congress Report tells VicSRC what we need to be focusing on in our own advocacy, which we call our Advocacy Goals, and what work we and the government can do to make change in education!
5.
VicSRC, led by the Student Executive Advisory Committee, works with education decision-makers to put these plans into action and push for student-led change.
FAQs
Any student currently enrolled in recognised secondary education in Victoria!
Congress is one of the only events for students, by students. We ask that educators do not accompany their students to the event, unless invited.
This year, we have established a separate teacher professional development session running alongside Congress. While these teachers will be present for the initial Congress presentations, the workshops and action plannings are still for students only.
We will update all teachers on the findings of Congress after the event, with Partner Schools getting an early reveal!
We can only host a limited number of students at Congress, so we cap each school at three delegates to make sure as many schools across Victoria as possible get the chance to participate. Make sure you’ve spoken with your student representative team to see if students from your school are already going!
Nope! Everyone has a voice, and everyone should be heard. If you are a Victorian secondary student, you can participate.
Nope! Schools can register their students but you can also register as an individual student. We also often have sponsored tickets available, so feel free to reach out and ask!
Note that only three students from each school can participate, so make sure you talk to someone at school to see if anyone else from your school is already going!
2024 is the first year where teachers have the opportunity to attend a separate teacher professional development session run by VicSRC while students attend Congress.
Congress is one of the only events for students, by students and we ask that educators do not accompany their students to the event if they have not booked a ticket for the teacher PD.
The price of Congress changes each year. In 2024 Congress tickets are $99 plus a booking fee for students and $165 plus a booking fee for teachers.
In 2024, Partner Schools received a discounted ticket.
Couldn’t make it to Congress? Join our Student Community for free to stay up to date on news and opportunities!
Child Safety
VicSRC is a child safe organisation. You can read our Commitment to Child Safety here
Congress is facilitated by our Student Executive Advisory Committee members, with VicSRC adult staff and volunteers supporting them and coordinating the event logistics.
Our staff and volunteers are trained in child safety and have current Working with Children Checks and National Police Checks.
COVID-19
VicSRC will follow current health advice to manage and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at Congress. Specific measures will be communicated closer to the event date as advice regularly changes.