Rotary Adventure in Citizenship

Rotary Adventure in Citizenship (RAIC) is an intensive and fun filled week‑long program to help prepare young adults for full participation as citizens of Australia.
The 2020 Rotary Adventure in Citizenship program will be held from Saturday 9 May to Saturday 16 May 2020, subject to the Parliamentary Calendar. This is Federal Parliament’s Budget Week. Delegates will view the Treasurer’s presentation of the Budget to Parliament. They will also be de-briefed by members of the Canberra Press Gallery on the Budget’s economic and political implications.

Each year around 40 Year 11 students (the delegates) are sent by their local Rotary clubs to Canberra. They are taken out of their comfort zones into new places, set amongst new faces and asked to do new things.

For a week, RAIC puts the delegates “inside” Canberra. Run in partnership with the Parliamentary Education Office the delegates are immersed behind the scenes in Parliament House.

They view Parliament in action, including the Budget speech and Question Time, meet their Federal member of parliament and Press Gallery journalists. Through role play, delegates participate in law-making debates and explore the functions of the Parliament.

They view Question Time and are debriefed by a journalist from the Press Gallery.

They learn the difference between a Bill and an Act and participate in mock Parliamentary debates themselves.

They experience the national institutions (War Memorial, Institute of Sport and National Library) in a way that is more revealing than the usual school excursion. They also visit a foreign Embassy to learn about the importance of diplomacy.

One of the highlights is having morning tea with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

And most importantly, they meet and make friends with young people from all over Australia. Delegates from previous years have said this is one of the highlights of the RAIC program.