Even when I was younger, I was held by some sort of mantra, a moral, that one should never be treated unequally.

Whether is be by gender, by race or by religion, my parents and teachers would always be motivating me and my classmates to break the chains of discrimination and live in equality and equity.

I remember, back in Sri Lanka, studying Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela during History lessons. It was so inspiring how in each case, a single man could do so much good for the world.

Recently, this I was reminded of this inequality that exists in the world during one of my HASS assignments. In this task, we had to pick an issue that concerned us and put up activism in order to make a change, whether it be writing a letter to making a petition.

I decided to address the issue of the lack of Indigenous recognition in the Australian Constitution. I wanted Indigenous Australians to, at the very least, be recognised as the true custodians of Australia. My argument was that Indigenous people were not even mentioned in the Constitution, except in some particular cases in which certain “races” could be barred from voting. This lack of universal suffrage and the absence of recognition made me want to make a                                                                                                 decision.

So I wrote to federal MP Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Indigenous Australians with the intention of convincing him to make a change and to push for a referendum. I also enclosed a link to an online petition, in order to gain support of people in my year.

The dedication was outstanding, and I was very touched by people’s enthusiasm. Out of the 140 views so far, 107 people had signed from my year. This was very promising, as due to the times people come back to visit a petition, the average rate of signatures was expecting to 1 for every seven views.

I very much appreciate the support for making the world a better place. By signing the petition in the link below, you are making a step towards change.

https://www.change.org/p/ken-wyatt-indigenous-recognition-in-the-constitution?recruiter=1088330282&recruited_by_id=28249670-9373-11ea-9b86-39e0ad3293ce&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

During this new experience, I have enjoyed learning new skills and engaging in activism. This will serve as motivation for me to continue fighting for changes like these, to make a fairer world.