Mia Handshin
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Mia Handshin (born in Adelaide, Australia) is an Adelaide-based political activist and a former columnist for The Advertiser newspaper in South Australia, contributing a weekly column to the opinion section from 1997 to 2007.[1] She is an associate director of the consulting firm Government Relations Australia, and was an adviser in the Adelaide office of federal sports minister Kate Ellis. She was the unsuccessful Australian Labor Party candidate for the 2007 federal election in the electorate of Sturt. Handshin is a Program Manager for the Leaders Institute of South Australia and the Presiding Member of the board of the Environment Protection Authority from 25 October 2012, with her appointment expired on 24 October 2015.[2]
Local
At the age of fourteen she wrote a speech on the concept of a Children's National Council, which was delivered in Federal Parliament, Canberra by Rod Sawford MP.[citation needed]
In 1992, Handshin was one of the instigators of a Youth Action Group, Tangent, in her local council area.[3]
Federal
In 1992, she was awarded an Australia Day Young Citizen of the year for her work in facilitating the involvement of young people in council decision making. In 1994, she became involved in the campaign to have the voting age lowered to 16 and the National Children's and Youth Law Centre's National Conference.[1] That same year she attended the Queen's Trust National Capital Seminar with 100 other young Australians.[citation needed]
In November 1997, Handshin won the Community Service Award in the SA Young Australian of the Year Awards.[1] In the same year, Handshin was elected Youth Governor through the YMCA Youth Parliament Program. She went on to be joint co-ordinator of the program in 1998 and was later appointed Governor General of the National Youth Parliament.[4][5] Mia was appointed by the Prime Minister to be the South Australian youth delegate to the Constitutional Convention on Australia becoming a republic in Canberra, February 1998.[6]
She held the position of Vice President of the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia from 1998 until 2000 and was a member of the Management and Executive committees of YACSA from 1995 until 2002.[citation needed]
She again won this award, being named the 1999 Young South Australian of The Year and was a national finalist at the Awards in Canberra.[1]
International
Handshin was chosen to attend The World Summit of Children held in Taiwan in 1997 and as Australia's representative to the First International Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's Youth Parliament in Manchester at which she was elected Prime Minister.[4][7]
Education
In 2000, Handshin graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Law (with honors) and a Bachelor of Arts.[1]