News

On behalf of YACVic and Youth Work Matters working group, the YWA would like to invite our members, as people who work with and supports young people, and/or as an employer of people who work with and support young people, to participate in the below surveys.

 You will be helping to increase the understanding of the valuable role you and so many other workers play in young people’s lives, and the need and opportunities related to investing more extensively in youth programs and services in Victoria.

Each survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. We really appreciate you taking the time, and encouraging your colleagues and peers to also complete the surveys, by 17 September 2021. 

Follow these links to the surveys:

Survey for people who work with and support young people:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z8FPYPQ

 Survey for employers of people who work with young people: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZV5W23G

The surveys are completely confidential. Results will be analysed by the Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic).

Please also forward this email to colleagues and peers who work with young people in Victoria, so we can make the survey as comprehensive and meaningful as possible.

Thank you so much for your input on this important matter.

As you may know there have been significant changes to the funding of higher education by the Australian Government. On 13 December 2020, the Australian Government, Department of Education, Skills and Employment introduced a new ‘professional pathway’ stream for students studying Youth Work, and recognised the YWA as the accrediting body for Youth Work degrees nationally.

A Professional Pathway Youth Work degree is one in which it is compulsory for students to undertake the units relevant to professional registration as a Youth Worker. This also means that for students enrolled in an accredited Professional Pathway degree in Youth Work, that units in Human Welfare Studies and Services (FOE codes starting with 0905) will be considered part of the professional pathway and charged at a lower rate than other social science units. Please follow the link for more information https://www.dese.gov.au/professional-pathways

As a result of these changes and in recognition of the national role that the YWA is playing in accrediting and recognising professional youth workers across Australia, the board of the YWA have decided to change the name of the association to Youth Workers Australia. This historic change was put to a vote of members at an extraordinary general meeting held on 22 July and was unanimously endorsed. The YWA will continue to liaise with existing and/or emerging state based bodies and will continue to accept membership applications from any person who has undertaken a recognised Youth Work qualification and meets the criteria for membership. See link for more information on YWA membership

A big thank you to everyone who has supported us at the YWA, we look forward to continuing our work as Youth Workers Australia!

By Emeritus Professor Robyn Broadbent

The Commonwealth Youth Program recently released the 2020 Youth Development Index.  This is the third Youth Development Index and is the only one of its kind that seeks to interrogate the progress of young people across the globe using key indicators such as health, employment and civic participation.

Whilst overall, the index shows advances in youth’s participation in peace processes and their education, employment, inclusion and health care since 2010. It also provides a stark contrast to those young people in countries where their scores have gone backwards evidencing a downward trend in their opportunities, health and well-being.  It is also notable on this terrible day where Afghanistan has lost its way to a brutal, patriarchal regime that up until 2020 Afghanistan had made the largest progress in the key indicators lifting their score by 15%.  The YDI will now stand as a testament to that history.  Nevertheless, improvement in other countries is to be celebrated as this is all about young people. 

 It is important to note that Australia is 56 and 61 in the employment and health and wellbeing indexes.

For many young people, Australia doesn’t feel so lucky when their health and employment opportunities are so compromised. Youth Workers around Australia can add testament to the toll that poor access to mental health services and barriers to meaningful and stable employment has on so many. The index uses evidence collected before the pandemic.  For Australian young people, the results in 2021 will be far worse. This puts a spotlight on the role of Youth Work in every community to enable and support young people in this global pandemic.

To see more of the global youth development index see here!

Today is International Youth Day and should be celebratory. At the YACVic conference, I see the many reasons why we should be celebrating our young people for the amazing things they are doing with and for their communities.

Instead, this is a generation that has experienced the harshest impact due to COVID. The impact on employment has been significant, compounded by the fact that young people are a part of a growing casualised workforce. The mental health and well being of young people has also been adversely affected due to lockdowns and in particular the lack of access to mental health services that are experienced by many young people particularly in rural and regional communities.  There is no national youth policy or strategy that can provide young people with a voice and where their challenges are acknowledged.

Nevertheless, Happy International Youth Day from Youth Workers Australia, who represent the work of professional Youth Workers who strive to make a difference in young people’s lives and ensure that they have a seat at the table.

Dear YWA Members,

Just a reminder that membership fees are due by 30/9/2021!

Please contact membership@ywa.org.au to renew your membership.

Fees are:

$5 Student

$25 Graduate

$50 Associate

$50 Full

The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC Secretary-General of the Commonwealth

invites you to

The launch of our flagship Global Youth Development Index ‘Taking Charge of our Future’

8 PM (AEST) on Tuesday 10 August 2021

Join the special worldwide newscast on Facebook here or on YouTube here.

Calling all youth work professionals, education providers and students!

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is hosting an event in August to explore changes to youth work education in Australia. The sector is undertaking a new process to accredit Bachelor of Youth Work courses and the Diploma of Youth Work and Certificate IV in Youth Work are currently being reviewed and updated. AYAC is introducing these changes and the impact for students and the youth sector at this online event and answering your questions.

When? 25 August 2021 11AM–12PM AEST

Register:  www.ayac.org.au/events/youth-work-education

AYAC has relaunched a new website with an accompanying newsletter, to keep up to date follow this link!

The Massive Open Online Course on Essentials of Youth Work, developed by the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership, will provide insights on how youth work can help us create an enabling environment for young people in these difficult times, as well as explore answers to the following questions:

What is youth work?

Who is it for?

Where does it come from?

How is it done and by whom?

How does one become a youth worker?

How is youth work supported?

How is it linked to youth policy?

MOOC on Essentials of Youth Work - Join the course!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzBsB-3FndY

Objective

The aims of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are:

• Make youth work known to a wide audience and draw attention to its social value;

• Provide an overview of youth work practices and policies; and

• Present current developments in this field.

Expected Outcomes

The learning is expected to generate the following outcomes:

• Become more familiar with the ‘basics’ of youth work (concepts and definitions, forms, practices, approaches, objectives, actors at European and national levels);

• Gain an overview of how youth work is supported (through policies and strategies, youth work research, education of youth workers, funding, etc.);

• Get inspired by the diverse good practices existing in Europe on different aspects of youth work; and

• Reflect on the future of youth work in Europe and on how to engage in youth work developments.

Applicants

The MOOC is for:

• Students involved in youth work studies or learners involved in non-formal education processes related to youth work;

• Volunteer or paid youth workers;

• Youth work managers;

• Responsible persons for planning youth work at municipal level;

• Youth organisations and other youth platforms;

• Those involved in youth work policy making or in funding youth work;

• Youth workers’ education providers;

• Researchers; and

• Other persons interested in exploring the youth work and youth development.

Course Fee

The MOOC is free of charge.

Course Link

If you are interested in the MOOC click the links below to:

· Enrol in the course: ➡️ https://canvas.instructure.com/enroll/CN8FTT

· Join the Facebook event for future updates ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/events/215414940342626

and connect on 17 May 2021 and discover the second module.

Schedule

The course runs from 17 May 2021.

The aim is to offer this opportunity to as many young people and interested learners as possible and we would be grateful if you could also share the following posts on your social media platforms with your youth ministries and departments, as well as networks:

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eucoeyouth/posts/155220159939976

- Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/215414940342626

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COiXneKCOsV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/eucoeyouth/status/1390335626139115530

- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6796101318877552640

- Youtube: https://youtu.be/yzBsB-3FndY (promo video)

This event is a great opportunity for youth workers in Australia to explore practice with Māori and Pasifika to contribute to professional development. This is a social work based event, but all who would find it valuable are invited.

Speakers include:

• Hinewirangi Kohu-Morgan - Keynote Address

• Eugene Ryder - Positive Role Modelling

• Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia - ‘Le Va Fealoa’i’: Partnering and collaborating with, and for, Pacific communities in Aotearoa, New Zealand

• Jonelle McNeill & Agnes Kapisi-Sevi - Paiheretanga: Changing the narrative around vulnerability and at-risk whānau

• Dr Moana Eruera - Au I te whānau - Reflections on fulfilling our individual obligations to whānau collective wellbeing

• Tā Mark Solomon - A walk on the sad side

The event is live-streamed, which makes it accessible to those in Australia.

Tickets

Facebook Event

1st June 9 am-4.30 pm NZ time

By Dr Robyn Broadbent

Recently the YACVIC Forum on Youth Work have posed the question around the need for a Youth Work Definition.  Some seemed to be unaware of the previous work and the work of others on this topic. If we lose our history we are destined to keep repeating the same work. When we look at where we have come from we can redefine, critique and grow from the foundations that have been established.

Currently, the Commonwealth Youth Worker Alliance has produced a Global Definitions document which includes the AYAC definition. It evidences the commonality we share with many with regards to defining Youth Work. This document found here includes both the AYAC definition and the Commonwealth Youth Program definition.

However, our starting point could be the body of knowledge that has been developed on defining Youth Work in Australia. This presentation that I delivered to the AYAC conference outlines that history including the research done by myself and Tim Corney in 2013.  Is it definitive, of course not, as we grow as a profession then we must evolve our parameters. That is a much stronger position to be in than starting at the beginning and effectively wiping away our rich history.  If you run the ppt show it will scroll through the national consultations, the opinions of Youth Workers from around Australia and in particular in Victoria on the key tenets of Youth Work.

Access PowerPoint Here