Check out the new courses in Youth Work and Community Work, enrolling now for a July start!

Mission Australia have now launched their Mission Australia's Youth Survey 2013. This important tool asks young Australians aged 15-19 years what they value, where they turn for advice and support, what issues concern them, how they are involved with their community and their feelings about their future. The survey can be completed online at mayouthsurvey.com.au  or in paper form by  emailing a request [email protected] with the required quantities and the delivery address. The survey is open until Friday 28 June 2013.

Source: YACWA enews

Seeing Stars SKA Art Prize 2013
From: SKA
Amount: $3000-$1500 in open category and an ipad or ipad mini in 12years and under category
Closes: 11:59 AEST Friday 5 July 2013

Using the inspiration of the SKA, artists and would-be artists are invited to create original pieces of artwork expressing the excitement and mystery of the SKA and its potential for discovery. Seeing Stars is open to 2D graphic mediums including painting, drawing, textiles and prints of digital art. Mediums not accepted include photography, sculpture, installations or other craft.

Artwork should be based around one or more of the five 'themes':

• The birth of stars and galaxies
• The mysteries of dark energy
• Alien life
• The genius of Einstein
• Giant magnetic fields of space

>>Read more

A new magazine designed for young people entering high school for the first time has been launched in Queensland and has received a highly positive response; the magazine is now available online.

Called Consume, the magazine is designed to ‘plug a gap’ in the information provided to young people in Grade 8. It aims to promote healthy attitudes towards body image, health and sexuality, and to encourage tolerance and personal responsibility. The first issue of the Consume was actually completed in 2011 and was reprinted due to high demand in 2012. This issue is now online and can be accessed at: http://consumemagazine.com/ Currently a second issue of Consume is being prepared; the deadline for contributions is 30 November 2013.

The magazine developed out of an idea to ‘create a forum where youth workers and young people could contribute information that they thought would be beneficial’ to young Queenslanders. Topics covered range from positive body image to politics and activism to how the body changes during puberty; it will be of interest to all young Australians.

The Eating Disorders Association Inc. is responsible for compiling Consume, and funding comes from the Youth Development and Support Program (managed by DEEWR) and also some funds from the Queensland Department of Communities and the Mental Health Directorate of Queensland. It is a great resource.

Source: Youth Field Xpress, 22 May 2013

Australia’s spiralling rate of youth detention is creating ‘intolerable social and financial burdens’ and represents a clear failure of public policy, a new report from the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) has warned.

In its report, Insights from the coalface: The value of justice reinvestment for young Australians, AYAC condemned an overuse of jail by courts and by state justice agencies, which was failing to reduce criminal behaviour, and which signified the failure of youth justice policy, past and present.

The report points to evidence of a rise in juvenile incarceration since 2004, and a jump in the number of young people on remand. There was also a critical lack of services available for crime prevention, early intervention and diversionary measures for young people, particularly in rural and remote areas. It costs more than $600 a day to keep a young person in youth detention – almost double the cost of adult detention.

AYAC calls for policy to reflect the extensive knowledge and good practice of the sector, and to ensure incarceration and remand is not the affliction of our most disadvantaged. AYAC wants to see marginalised young people getting the right support prior to contact with the justice system, rather than bearing the brunt of ‘tough on crime’ policies.

The Justice Reinvestment approach is being used in Australia by some services to great effect. However, the current climate in Australia means that most of these services, while doing important work, are piecemeal, under-resourced, and targeted at specific needs, as opposed to the comprehensive, coordinated Justice Reinvestment approach.

The report is available for download from the AYAC website: http://www.ayac.org.au/news/230/67/The-value-of-justice-reinvestment-for-young-Australians.html

(Source: Youth Field Xpress, 22 May 2013.)

 A recent seminar called ‘Identity and meaning for vulnerable young people’, which was hosted by the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University, is now available as a recording online.

To access this recording and the accompanying report, go to: http://www.acu.edu.au/462986.

Source: Youth Field Xpress, 22 May 2013

The GET A GRIP teenz 2.0 program provides incredible value and includes comprehensive online training. Schools and Youth Organisations who purchase the program prior to our June 2013 launch receive a 10% discount.

The GET A GRIP teenz 2.0 program equips teens with tools to negotiate life’s challenges, bringing understanding to the issues surrounding sexuality and relationships. Developed for High School students in Year levels 9/10, GET A GRIP teenz 2.0 aligns with the objectives of the Health & Physical Education National Curriculum.

The 10 Core Elements (topics) have a flexible delivery time of 45-70 minutes each and cover: Pressures, Integrity, Respect & Consent, Smart Choices, Sex & The Body, Pregnancy, Pornography & Sexting, Diversity, Whole-Person Sexuality, Creating my Future

Assessments are provided to support learning outcomes and the program delivery can be tailored to suit either small groups or classrooms.

It can be be run in either combined or separate gender specific groups, in Public and Private High Schools, community education arenas for ‘at risk’ youth and other community organisations.

Complete ONLINE training is included for educators to become program facilitators.

Source: Youth Wellbeing Project email 17/5/13

The Institute of Child Protection Studies has released a new report titled: Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people.

The report presents the findings of research which interviewed 24 young people about the role and potency of concepts such as identity and a search for meaning in their lives. The report also explores the implications for support services that work with vulnerable young people.

This report is available to download at: http://www.acu.edu.au/462986

 The Australian Greens have launched a National Youth Survey to find out what 15–25-year-olds think about current issues that have an impact on young people's lives.

There are big-picture questions about Australia and its future, and a range of questions on education, safety and bullying, homophobia, social security and the environment. The results of the survey will play a crucial role in the party's policy development in the future.

‘The voice of Australia's young people is too important to ignore,’ the Greens youth spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said. ‘Today's youth are the leaders of tomorrow and it is essential that we develop policies that support them.’

The survey can be accessed at: www.nationalyouthsurvey.com

(Source: ACYS & Youth Field Xpress April 2013)

 A youth worker in Blacktown is running workshops on how to create legal graffiti as a way to engage young people, and to ‘eliminate the stigma associated with youth and graffiti’.

Sharline Bezzina, a street artist and youth worker, runs the program – called Grafix – for the Blacktown Youth Services Association. The program aims to show young people clear distinctions between illegal graffiti and tagging, and public art. It also aims to give young people spaces where they can create their art.

The program is funded by the Attorney-General’s Department under the aegis of the Proceeds of Crime Act. Read more and watch a short video about it at:

http://www.blacktownsun.com.au/story/1332377/video-blacktowns-youth-taught-legal-graffiti/?cs=2189#

(Source: ACYS - Youth Field Xpress April 2013)