Rethinking Student Rep: The First Higher Education Student Citizen's Panel

The newDemocracy Foundation is partnering with Western Sydney University share with Western students the barriers of student representation in a world-first higher education citizen’s assembly. The project demonstrates Western continuing to innovate in democracy, student politics on the domestic and global fronts.

The assembly was comprised of thirty-two (32) students selected by a democratic lottery and tasked with providing recommendations they find agreement on to answer the question:

How should students have a voice at Western Sydney University?

Students have met four times over the first half of 2022 to learn, deliberate and find common ground around innovative approaches to student representation at the University.

Further information about citizens’ assemblies and their ability to facilitate a representative mix of everyday people finding common ground solutions to difficult problems can be found at new Democracy’s website (opens in a new window) and for new Democracy's article on the project can be  found here (opens in a new window).

Using citizen juries to improve democracy (opens in a new window)

By Hilary Harper on Life Matters