Sector News

Inspire Student Activism is a 4 week program designed to give new university age students they skills and experience they need to be lasting change agents on their campuses.

Applications close on the 6th of March, CLICK HERE to submit one.

The Schools Reconciliation Challenge is now open for entries for young people aged 10-16.

The art competition will be running in the lead up to Reconciliation Week (27 May-June) and it is a fantastic way to engage young people about what reconciliation means and how they can contribute positively to Australian society.

Winning artworks will be framed and exhibited at the Australian Museum from Reconciliation Week to NAIDOC week (1 July-8 July). The winning artists will also get to attend the launch event with a guardian.

The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) will be hosting a Constitutional Recognition Forum for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from the 14th-17th March. The organisation is currently calling for young Indigenous Australians from all around the nation to participate in this valuable experience.

The ING Foundation has opened applications for their latest grants program. There are three grants of up to $25,000 available to charities that are seeking funding for initiatives that aim to assist young people in realising their potential.

“ING DIRECT is keen to help groups who are doing great work in the community. We look forward to furthering the efforts of the three worthy recipients,” said ING DIRECT CEO, Don Koch.

Jessica Irvine, from the Sydney Morning Herald, has reported today that “Three out of four students receiving youth allowance and Commonwealth rent assistance still live in housing stress”. Community sector organisation Australians for Affordable Housing, is asking the federal government to act swiftly to relieve an estimated 100,000 private renters of their renting pressures. Indicating that this can be achieved by a 30 percent increase in the budget for rent assistance.

Have you been looking for ways to deepen your climate advocacy in 2012? If you have, then there's no better way to start than by joining campaigners from around the country for a fun and informative weekend...

CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians, Jan Owen AM, has released an editorial piece called “NEVER TOO LATE: Renewing the ties that bind with our teenagers these holidays”

Ms Owen’s article addresses the “limited, poor quality communication between the generations”, and stresses the need for parents to connect with their own children – and the children of others – in meaningful, often unmediated, ways.

According to a new organisation, the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (YAW-CRC), young Australians are at crisis point because of a technological generation gap. The centre has been established to investigate the role of technology in young people’s lives and how it can be used to improve the mental health and wellbeing of 12 to 25 year olds.

The community sector employs around 85% women, yet there is little knowledge about the gendered nature of senior management and board positions within Australia’s vital community and social services sector.

AYAC supports the Australian Council of Social Service as they urge the Commonwealth Government to commit to increase income support allowances like Newstart as recommended by the Henry Review, in order to tackle growing inequality in Australia. 

Are you passionate about making sure young people have their ideas heard? Do you know how to connect with young people? Would you like to be part of the 2012 Australian Youth Forum (AYF) Steering Committee?

Minister for School Education Peter Garrett today released the guidelines for the Government’s National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program, enabling the extension and expansion of chaplaincy and welfare services in schools.

Napcan invites you to play your part in National Child Protection Week 2011.

This year's theme is: Play Your Part to keep children safe.

See how others are playing their part, get involved, and do your bit for National Child Protection Week 2011.

"The world is full of hard knocks. So change the world" Hard Knock Life is a conference focussing on youth participation, will be taking place in Melbourne on 9-10 September.

 

(by Reece Harley)

Are you sick of the sneering, cat-calls and negativity? Are you just a little bit fed up with shortsighted “policy development” which sometimes more closely resembles a stream-of-consciousness, back-of-the-napkin mode of governing?

We think we might just have a solution... Let me explain it to you. The Left Right Think Tank is proud to announce the launch of its Policy Fellowship for 2011, our key initiative to engage young people in public policy and foster a society that seeks and embraces the ideas of young people.

Help Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies make their website, supporting youth affairs, better!

Young people are the group least likely to have access to a landline, relying on a mobile to make all phone calls. ACCAN and Australia's newest superhero, Number Woman, are working together to make sure that 1800 freephone and 1300/13 local-rate numbers will cost the same from landlines and mobile phones.

Every school in Australia will be provided with new information packs to help promote positive body image and create supportive school environments, Minister for Youth Peter Garrett said today.

The ‘Listen to Children’ 2011 Child Rights NGO Report is the NGO Report on how Australia is tracking in meetings its obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC). It details the current situation as well as being a call to action for the future.

AYAC was involved with the Child Rights Taskforce - a group of non-government organisations who contributed and advised on the format and content of the report. AYAC also provided expert advice in areas such as youth participation.

 

 

Enter Heywire by 19 September 2011 for a chance to have your story broadcast on the ABC, and be part of the annual Heywire Youth Issues Forum in Canberra.

AYAC supports the government's move to fund initiatives that expand Clontarf Foundation.

2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Australian Youth Forum is running a discussion topic on refugee youth issues to get the views of young Australians, specifically refugee young people.

For details checkout the AYF young refugees page

Over 300,000 students will be asked to rate the nation’s vocational education and training system in the coming months as the Student Outcomes Survey begins.

Right now, 32,000 Australian youth don't have a place to call home. Want to do your bit?

AYF have a dedicated space on their website for you to have a say. Discussion topics are a chance for you to have a say and be heard about issues and policy matters being considered by the Australian Government.

AYAC supports the Australian Human Rights Commission call for all Australians to participate in this very important national conversation.

"Constitutional recognition can only improve the trust and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia and for that reason alone it has the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives" Commission President Catherine Branson QC said.

The Centre for Refugee Research is convening a Conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention from the 14th to 17th of June 2011.  As part of the Conference a Youth Forum will be being held on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 of June 2011 at the University of NSW Kensington Campus , Sydney.

ACCAN (the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network) has launched a campaign that can make a difference to the lives of young people.

The Report on the Commonwealth Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill 2010 is now available.

AYAC has partnered with the new Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing (YAW-CRC), and welcomes their comments on the announcement of the federal budget.

Associate Professor Jane Burns's, CEO of the new YAW-CRC, media release commented on the welcome increase in resourcing for youth mental health, which prioritises remote communities and inclusion the most vulnerable young people.

An alliance of leading union, social, environment and research organisations have unveiled a combined policy platform designed to lay the necessary foundations for Australia’s transition to a low-carbon pollution economy

“There is no doubt Australia’s future economic and environmental security requires the Federal Government taking action to reduce carbon pollution and grow cleaner industries,” said ACTU President Ged Kearney.

Full media release...

In February 2011, AYACs Maia Giordano sat on the expert panel at the 2011 Heywire Youth Issues Forum.The 2011 Heywire Winners have now released a report on how to make life better for young people in regional Australia...

AYAC and an AYAC youth representative last year attended the Australian Human Rights Commission consultations addressing sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity discrimination, as well as preparing a submission (which you can find here). The consultation report is now available...

AYAC congratulates Benson Saulo, as the first Indigenous Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations.

Tune In Not Out, AYAC's official partner for their National Youth Week initiative Own the Issue, has become a Official Honoree in the Internet's most respected symbol of success – The Webby Awards.

St John Ambulance Australia is holding a photography competition, with a chance to WIN an Apple iPad. to find out more details....

Same Same is staging a revolt! For the next week, Same Same wants to take a break from the status quo and really shine a light on the amazing work that our younger audience can bring to the table.

Check out what Same Same are doing for Youth Week

Are you aged 30 years and under and currently working in the social sector, or on a social project? Then FAR Reaching Leadership may be for you. Check out all the details here.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry offer Next Gen Farmers grants of up to $50K.

The Australian Scholarships Foundation has over $1 million of scholarships available for not-for-profit employees from major universities and private education providers across Australia. Entries for many of these scholarships are closing shortly, so make sure you check it out today!

The Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network has released new resources for young people directly impacted by the Queensland floods; these include the Red Cross ‘After the emergency’ website.

Head over to http://www.earlytraumagrief.anu.edu.au/ to see more info.

20 leaders from youth-led NGOs across Australia will be brought to Canberra for the weekend of the 18 – 20 February, 2011, to participate in the sessions and workshops as part of the first ever youth-led Roundtable.