In the lead-up to the 2022 federal election, Zoe Daniel emerged as a community-backed independent candidate in the historically safe Liberal seat of Goldstein. To ensure the campaign resonated with all demographics, there was a need to create a dedicated group for young people in the electorate to engage and resonate with.

With prior experience in community organising in the local area, I joined a friend to co-lead the campaign’s youth engagement efforts. Together, we established and coordinated the youth group for Zoe's federal campaign.

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Young people aged 18–34 made up nearly 20% of Goldstein’s population. This was a critical segment of the community that needed to be engaged. The challenge was to provide a sense of agency to young people and invite them into the conversation. This included a lot of young people who would be voting for the first time at a federal election.

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• Zoe Daniel was elected, breaking the Liberal Party's long-standing hold on Goldstein.
• Created a youth-led campaign group that gave young people agency in shaping and delivering campaign activities.
• Ran youth-targeted events including a local cinema screening, barefoot bowls Q&A, and a beach clean-up day.
• Produced a youth campaign video urging first-time voters to register, mobilised in less than 24 hours.
• Contributed to a broader shift in political engagement strategies by showing how authentic youth participation can drive results.
• Social media impact highlighted in this RMIT article, which attributed Zoe’s win in part to engaging with young people via digital strategies.

• Developing shared ownership in volunteering takes time. It requires consistently showing up, building trust, actively listening, and - despite the temptation - not taking on more than the group can realistically handle.