What's a Summit?
A summit is another name for a large conference, where Members of Parliament, young people and professionals from different groups in the community discuss a topic and suggest ways the Government and other people can help to make things better.
A Summit on childhood obesity was held at Parliament House, Sydney, from 10-12 September, 2002.
Young People's involvement in the Summit
The Commission worked with the NSW Department of Health and the NSW Department of Education and Training to give children and young people the chance to participate in the Summit.
Sixteen young people were selected to be delegates at the three day Summit. The young delegates came from areas across NSW including Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast, Deniliquin, Griffith, Lismore and Tamworth.
Children and young people were involved in the organisation process for the Summit from the beginning. They were represented on the Children and Youth Subcommittee and gave advice on aspects of the Summit they felt needed to be changed for them to participate better.
The young delegates were involved in all aspects of the Summit including:
- working groups;
- the opening speech of the Summit;
- keynote speeches at the Summit;
- panel discussions;
- plenary sessions and debates;
- giving media interviews; and
- the closing speech of the Summit.
Outcomes
Feedback from the young people and the adults who were delegates at the Summit was that young people's participation was a rewarding experience for everyone and beneficial to the outcomes of the Summit.
At the end of the three day Summit a Communiqué, which is a document containing a list of recommendations, was produced. There were 145 recommendations made in the Communiqué.
Follow this link to download a copy of the Communiqué.
Response to the Summit
The government has released its response to the Summit Communique. The government response indicates which resolutions are supported by the Government and how they will be implemented.
Follow this link to download a copy of the Government response.
An action plan called Prevention of Obesity in Children and Young People: NSW Government Action Plan 2003-2007 was also developed in response to recommendations made in the Summit Communique.
Follow this link to download a copy of the action plan.
The action plan identifies seven priority areas to prevent childhood obesity in NSW. The priority areas are:
- healthier schools
- an active community
- support for parents
- healthy child and out-of-school care
- community understanding
- increasing our knowledge
- governments, industry and the community working together