Leading change for the next generation

Ravin is currently working on the campaign to lower Australia’s voting age as the National Media Lead and Victorian State Organiser for Make It 16. He is also a Youth Advisor for the Office for the Victorian Information Commissioner and a member of the Boroondara Youth Council.

In his spare time, Ravin works closely with the Rotary Organisation, as the Chair of the District 9800 Interact Council, and the President of his School’s Rotary Interact Club. He can often be found in his school’s theatre, or at the National Gallery of Victoria, where he was a past Teen Council Member, and a keen observer of curatorial studies.

Read on for our interview with Ravin!

Describe your how you got to your current position.

I have always been passionate about raising the voices of young people, and through my time as a Chamber Leader at the YMCA Youth Parliament last year, I have grown a keen interest towards including more young people in the policies that effect them so naturally, when the opportunity to work with Make it 16 came up, I couldn’t pass it by!

What does this role mean to you?

For me, this role is so much more than a job: it’s an opportunity to truly change the futures of young people and pave the way for a generation of politically active, connected, and enfranchised people.

Take us through a typical day for you.

Typically, I get into school at around 8:00AM, go to classes until recess, where I’ve usually got a meeting for one of the School groups that I’m involved with, and then keep learning until lunch where I’ve usually got another meeting, whether that be Rotary, debating or something else.

When I get home, I honestly tend to have one or two more meetings and I slot in my work around that – I also usually get in watching some Succession, Utopia or Media Watch whenever I can!

To most people, it sounds like a pretty boring day, but if the meetings you are having are fun and with people who you like, it’s less of a meeting and more just hanging out!

What has your role taught you?

Aside from how to do an interview with the media or get a politician onside, this role has taught me the power of grassroots movements and the collective power of young people. To think that we’ve gotten so far as a campaign in just the past few months is crazy, and that’s really shown me the power that young people have as a group, and certainly given me a lot of hope for our future.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your campaign so far, and how did you overcome it?

I would say that the first few months of the campaign were probably our greatest challenge. It’s always a bit of a slog when you have to get the gears going, but if anything, I think our persistence as a group, whether that be in calling politicians, sitting on research calls for many hours at a time, and just working as a team has really gotten us to where we are.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your campaign?

Probably to stress less! When the future is unclear it’s all too easy to worry about what’s coming next, but everything will always take its path and work itself out in a sense. 

How do you stay motivated to do the work?

I think the knowledge that what you are doing will pay off is the biggest motivator. That, and just working with people who you really like – luckily I’m surrounded by them on the campaign!

How do you like to unwind?

A lot of my friends frown upon me for this – but I just love scrolling through instagram reels – the algorithm knows me too well!