We’re back for 2026! Thank you again for supporting a brilliant array of student presentations in 2025 — we hope to encounter such faithful responses again in 2026!
The Young Christian Thinkers Symposium provides an opportunity for students from the network of CEN schools across Victoria to collaboratively embark on a project that allows them to offer their heart, soul, strength and minds to a wider public. This stems from a belief that if our students are to be the critical Christian thinkers and creative minds of the future, we must give them the opportunity to exercise this capacity during their schooling and appreciate them now. Students nominated by their school will be given access to renowned Christian thinkers via the Catalyst Colloquium to stimulate thought and invite biblically inspired responses from students that could be analytically and/or creatively expressed. After a period to prepare a response, the experience will culminate in the in-person Young Christian Thinkers Symposium where teams from different schools present their learning to one another in a public forum in Melbourne.
2026 Themes: ‘Life in His Fullness’
In 2026 we are asking students to help us understand how we might live in the fullness of Christ today, focusing on three areas of contemporary life. The colloquium speakers are still in the process of being finalised.
Student teams will be asked to provide a response that connects directly or indirectly to the theme.
Dates:
Online Colloquiums — March 12, 2026
This event will feature three catalyst speakers to inspire students toward critical, thought provoking and imaginative responses to the Gospel in alignment with our three themes for 2026. We will be providing separate Primary and Secondary viewing sessions for 2026. Teams will partake in a Q&A session with each speaker. Students will then have until the end of May to prepare their responses.
Symposiums:
These events afford students the opportunity to share their team’s hard work, research, ideas and concerns in a public forum. Students are given 10 minutes to share their critical or creative response with all assembled teams, families and school representatives.
Young Christian Thinkers Symposium (Primary) — May 28, 2026
Young Christian Thinkers Symposium (Secondary) — May 29, 2026
Team Registration:
Schools may register up to two teams of 3-4 students to take part in the Young Christian Thinkers Symposium; with a maximum of two from each category:
Category 1: Primary — Years 5-6
Category 2: Secondary — Years 9-10
Schools are encouraged to consider students who demonstrate a capacity to respond to the callings of the Gospel in highly insightful ways — this may be through careful, considered thinking, through leadership in caring for those in need, or through critical-creative brilliance. We recognise that our Lord has endowed His people with many, many ways of responding thoughtfully to the challenges and joys of our lives, and that a wide-breadth of styles in response will only enrich the vitality of our symposium.
Teams will also need to have a School-based Coordinator, who will guide students through their preparation and attend both the Colloquium and the Symposium.
School-based Coordinators Description:
Schools are asked to assign a staff member (or two) to guide their students through the experience. The staff leader will attend both the Catalyst Colloquium and the Young Christian Thinkers Symposium, and assist students in preparing their symposium presentation. It is recommended that schools provide staff with at least 8 hours of time with their teams to prepare a high quality response for the Symposium. Support will be provided for the Leader by the symposium coordinator, Sam Waldron, including school visits.
More details including speakers and venue details will be provided in the near future. For more detailed information, please contact Sam Waldron via email at [email protected]
