YACVic news
7 May 2008
Upcoming Code of Ethical
Practice information
and implementation workshops
YACVic is hosting free
workshops in Sunshine and Castlemaine on the Code of Ethical
Practice – A First Step for the Victorian Youth Sector.
These workshops will allow youth workers and youth sector professionals
to find out more about the Code and to discuss ways of
implementing the Code.
Location: Castlemaine (PDF;
316kb); Sunshine (PDF; 309kb)
Date: 12 May (Castlemaine); 3 June (Sunshine)
Time: 1.30-4.30 (Castlemaine); 9.30-12.00 (Sunshine)
Cost: Free!
RSVP: info@yacvic.org.au (include
your name, contact details and the workshop you wish to attend)
Geographical Differences
in Higher Education Participation
The Victorian Parliament's Education and Training
Committee has been exploring the geographical differences in the
rate in
which Victorian students participate in higher education. Whilst
the Committee has a broad focus in this investigation, YACVic presented
to a public hearing and submitted a written
submission (PDF; 189kb) focusing
on the disadvantages experienced by rural and regional
young people in accessing post-secondary education opportunities.
The Australian
Youth Forum
The Federal Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, recently announced
the creation of the Australian
Youth Forum (AYF), a forum for young people
to have a direct voice to government.
A discussion
paper has been made available that will form the basis
of a public consultation process on the Forum. This will take place
via two modes of consultation.
The first is a questionnaire which will include a number of key
questions about the AYF. Responses to the questionnaire can be
supplemented by a written submission (due on 30 May).
The second is a series of consultations that will follow a discussion
at the upcoming 2020 Summit. Dates and locations of these consultation
as well as registration details will
be
announced
on 15 April.
YACVic will be responding to this opportunity to present
a meaningful voice to the Government by submitting a discussion
paper, either in partnership with or in support of a submission
by the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC).
Details of our submission will be printed on this website as
they become available. In the meantime, if you have any questions
or feedback about the discussion
paper, contact Georgie
Ferrari,
YACVic's CEO or Jen Rose,
Manager of Policy and Projects.
Future of the Victorian youth
sector: sector responses
In the last edition of Yikes, YACVic explored the
terrain of the Victorian youth sector and invited practitioners
to share their thoughts
on the current role and future of youth work. We
posed a number of key questions:
- What is youth work? How do you define your work?
- Why do you do youth work? What are your 'purposes'?
- Should educational qualifications, in an increasingly professional
society, be an important part of defining youth work?
Can qualifications become central to our profession when so
much youth work happens
by unqualified, good practitioners?
- Where do you see the future of Victorian youth work?
A number of practitioners took the opportunity to share
their thoughts and ideas. Here is the full
text of their responses (Word; 72kb).
Plenary session: Ethics and professionalisation
of the youth sector (audio recording)
At the National Youth Affairs Conference held last year, YACVic
facilitated a plenary session on a discussion surrounding a Code
of Ethics for Victorian youth workers as well as the professionalisation
of the youth sector.
Several speakers were involved in the session, including Siyavash
Doostkhah (Director of the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland),
Tim Corney (youth sector professional and current YACVic Board
member), Heather Stewart (youth studies lecturer at the Australian
Catholic University), Howard Sercombe (Professor of Community
Education at Strathclyde University, Glasgow) and Jason Clarke
(mind worker, Minds at Work).
Download the audio
recording (in MP3 format) of the plenary
session: part
1 (9.2MB), part
2 (9.5MB), part
3 (8.6MB), part
4 (6.8MB).
Youth worker networks in Victoria
A number of youth worker
networks (Word; 99kb) exist in Victoria that provide
services and support, as well as opportunities to meet with other
sector professionals, to youth workers and youth service providers.
Contact your nearest youth
worker network to find out more about
meeting times, locations and support services.
Youth Voice: Peer Research
into Youth Transitions
YACVic, in partnership with the Youth Collaboration, has recently
released a report detailing the
results of an exciting project investigating youth transitions
in Victoria.
The report, Youth Voice: Peer Research into Youth Transitions,
was launched by the Education
Minister Bronwyn Pike launched the report on 30 November at Braybrook
Community Centre.
The project was designed to identify how feedback
from young people can have
a positive impact on youth transitions. It was designed around
a peer research
model, where young people research and investigate other young
people’s
transitions. This research improves our understanding of the experience
of young
people and informs the development of transition programs and
support services.
Download a copy of the Youth Voice report (PDF; 1.05MB).
Code of Ethical Practice for
the Youth Sector
YACVic is very pleased to announce the release of the Code
of Ethical Practice - A First Step for the Victorian Youth Sector.
Launched
by Bernie
Geary AOM, Child Safety Commissioner, at YACVic's 2007 annual
general meeting on 7 November, the document is the first Code
of Ethical Practice for the Victorian
youth sector and one of only a few in Australia.
The Code outlines
key youth
work principles and practice responsibilities underpinning
Victorian youth work practice and is designed to foster and support
ethical practice across
the State. It is the culmination of many months
of
consultation with the Victorian youth sector.
YACVic would like
to take this
opportunity to encourage the Victorian youth sector to read,
engage with and utilise
the Code.
A hard copy of the Code will be sent to all YACVic members
shortly. However, an electronic version of the Code (PDF;
2.5MB) is available
for download.
For further information about the Code, contact Jen
Rose,
Manager, Policy and Projects, at YACVic (tel: 03 9267
3722).
Volunteering opportunities at YRIPP Do
you have an interest in working with a broad range of young people, including
those from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) backgrounds?
Are you interested in developing your knowledge about local youth support
services, the law and police and criminal justice procedures?
Are you reliable, with highly developed communication and assertiveness
skills?
Are you over 18 years of age and have access to private transport?
Do you have a commitment to social justice?
YRIPP is seeking volunteers to donate their time to undertake training
and become Independent Persons. What is an Independent Person?
An independent Person is a trained volunteer who is independent
of the Criminal Justice System and supports young people during interviews
with Police.
What is YRIPP?
The law requires that an adult be present during formal police
questioning of a young person under 18 years of age. YRIPP provides trained
volunteers to support young people through police interviews where a
parent or guardian is unavailable. YRIPP also refers young people to
culturally appropriate health and welfare support services to reduce
their chances of future offending.
YRIPP operates a 1300 telephone number that police can call 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to obtain an Independent Person for interviews with
young people. These Independent Persons are trained in relevant police
and legal processes as well as in working with Indigenous and Culturally
and Linguistically Diverse young people
YRIPP is funded by the State Government and is a partnership
program of the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (CMYI), the Youth
Affairs
Council of Victoria and other agencies.
Where does YRIPP operate?
YRIPP is currently operational in 20 metropolitan police stations.
Over the next two years, the program will be available to
young people interviewed in 103 police stations across the State.
If you are interested in volunteering or would like to find
out more about the program, please contact admin@yripp.org.au or
call 9340 3777 or visit YRIPP's
website.
Are We There Yet? conference
proceedings
The conference proceedings for the Are We There Yet? National
Youth Affairs Conference are now available to be downloaded in PDF format.
This document contains an overview of the three days, a summary of the
conference evaluations and 20 peer reviewed academic papers that were
presented at the conference. The document is sizable, so if you would
like to receive a PDF of one or two specific academic papers please email
Liz Leahy at info@yacvic.org.au with the name of the paper and the page
number and we'll email you directly.
Our sincere thanks to the Youth Research Centre, Melbourne University
for their co-ordination of the peer reviewed papers and to the Australian
Clearinghouse for Youth Studies for the compiling and editing of the
conference proceedings.
Download the conference proceedings here. Papers
(1.3MB) Report
(3.3MB) (corrected 15 Sep 2007) |
