A Good Year for Youth?
12 August is International Youth Day and also marks the end of the United Nations International Year of Youth. Not a good end to the year for the UK it seems. But what about Australia? This time last year I highlighted in my blog ‘Celebration, Commitment or Cuts’ both the opportunities and risks faced by young people and the youth services designed to advocate on their behalf and help increase their life chances.
Life chances include having autonomy; engaging in positive social and community networks; accessing education and employment opportunities; being economically stable; experiencing health, well-being and resilience; and living in a safe environment.
The Australian Government shares these aspirations. The first National Strategy for Young Australians was launched in April 2010 underpinned by a vision that all young people should be able to grow up safe, healthy, happy and resilient.
So has this been a good year for young people and the youth sector? Is Australia living up to its promise?
It appears that there have certainly been some very positive developments.
The Australian Office for Youth (OFY) which oversees the ‘whole of government’ approach to investment in young people and youth services remains proactive in promoting a raft of programs to engage young people in consultation through the Australian Youth Forum, research best practice, support the not-for-profit sector and develop services for vulnerable young people. To enhance all of these initiatives the OFY has also funded the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) to develop its infrastructure as the non-government youth sector peak body representing the rights of young people and the sector that supports them.
To this end, AYAC convened the first Australian National Youth Affairs Conference for over 4 years held in May 2011. The conference was attended by over 300 delegates, including young people and showcased a diverse array of exciting and innovative examples of how young people are being actively engaged in identifying and meeting their own needs and the needs of others within their communities. The conference also focused on important issues relating to youth workforce development and ethics.
The States are following suit with Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) convening their first youth conference for over 5 years in July 2011. The inspiring and challenging program included streams relating to alternative education, sexual health, housing, youth justice and youth workforce development. The Youth Action Policy Association of New South Wales (YAPA) are looking forward to their opportunity to turn the spotlight on a wealth of youth activity and to ‘energise, inspire, support and connect’ the NSW youth sector at their upcoming Youth Work Conference on 24-26 August 2011.
I believe that these events are significant. They are evidence that Federal Government policy to recognise and value young people as a distinct and important group with specific needs, is working. The youth sector itself is being valued and is rising to the call to be pro-active, positive, innovative and open to doing things better and doing things differently.
But there is still a lot to do. The reality remains that in Australia, many vulnerable young people, particularly those from Indigenous communities still face significant barriers to achieving optimal life chances and gaps in inequality are actually increasing. A 2010 UNICEF report ‘The Children Left Behind’ cites Australia as struggling amongst the 27 wealthiest nations to address the needs of the 10% of children and young people who are most at risk. Actively engaging those young people in opportunities to flourish, remains the key challenge for Government and the Youth Sector alike.
In other parts of the world like the UK, youth services continue to be decimated. So I think it is appropriate and good to reflect that in Australia this past year has seen meaningful opportunities taken to celebrate what is good about young people and reinforce that the active commitment from Government to support them and youth sector is stronger than it has been for a long time.
Post Script: Since submitting this blog we have seen the truly shocking situation develop in the UK involving young people rioting on the streets. As someone who has lived and worked with young people in those very environments I am less suprised than saddened at what has taken place. Young people need HOPE. HOPE requires meaningful goals, the agency or self-belief to try and achieve them, and ultimately the ability to find different routes and pathways through which to take steps towards them.
If there is one thing that youth services do for young people it is to give them HOPE that there is a future for them out there. Youth work helps young people to identify and work to their strengths, build self-confidence and to see that there are steps they can take to try to achieve their goals. For the last 18 months the whole focus on youth services in the UK, many of which target those young people who have least hope, has been on cuts. Cuts because youth services are not deemed as important as other services. It will be interesting to see if there is any reflection that the millions of pounds that will be spent on damage repair and the millions of pounds that will be spent in the criminal justice system, could have been better invested.
Clive Leach spoke at the AYAC National Conference and the YANQ Conference on ‘Flourishing Youth Provision – The Role of Positive Psychology & Coaching in Enhancing Youth Services’. He will be speaking at the YAPA Youth Work Conference on 24 August 2011. A former Head of Youth Services, Clive is a graduate of the Master of Organisational Coaching Program at the University of Sydney and a certified Realise2 Strengths Practitioner. He works as an evidence-based organisational coach and facilitator within the public, community and corporate sectors. For further information visit: www.cliveleach.com or email: coach@cliveleach.com
Clive Leach M.Org Coaching is a licensed MTQ48 Practitioner. Clive works widely as an organisational coach and facilitator within the government, corporate and education sectors supporting people to feel good and function well. His portfolio of work within the corporate, government and education sectors extends to Asia-Pac and the UK. Clive has spoken at numerous national conferences on the application of positive psychology and coaching within organisations and communities. He has been published in the International Journal of Evidence-based Coaching & Mentoring Vol. 9(1).
foggy
December 19, 2012 at 6:45 am
Exposing youth to opportunity
The greatest barrier to the youth in depression is his family,and immediate peer influence.They seem to say when we are here why would you need outside help or advice.Bonafide youth helpline systems should advertise as daily familiar as are the breakfast cereal ADS.Such ads must be endorsed by the Govt. which must be accessible to verify and further advice.TV,schools,shops streets should display these ads well.Youth helpline people must visit youth places such as schools;to positively make their presence felt.Just remember there is a sad youth out there who is not being told about the zillion opportunities he can have for his talent or desired career choice!