Young People Actively Engaged
When young refugees arrive in Australia they face a number of challenges. They need to begin a new life, establish new friends and networks and find pathways that link them into mainstream community.
The MRCSA Youth Empowerment Program has advocated for and provided a voice for the inclusion and participation of young people of refugee background. Young people need to be engaged at all levels to ensure that they develop a belief in themselves as citizens with a valuable contribution to make to their communities.
The Youth Empowerment Program has, since 1998, addressed the needs of young people from new and emerging communities in South Australia through a multifaceted program decided upon and further developed by a Youth Reference Group and network of young people at Annual Residential Youth Conferences – refer to ‘Youth Leadership and Advocacy’ section of the report for additional information about the 2009 conference.
This program provides young people with a range of services and supports aimed at furthering their coping skills, resilience, leadership aspirations and pathway towards employment and independence. These fall under a range of categories which will be described more fully in this section of the report. They include:
*Early intervention and case management for newly arrived young people at risk
*Mentoring
*Education, training and employment pathways
*Youth leadership and advocacy
*Engagement with the police and the justice system
*Arts and cultural development
*Sports and recreation
When young refugees arrive in Australia they face a number of challenges. They need to begin a new life, establish new friends and networks and find pathways that link them into mainstream community.
Anecdotal evidence provided in the report, The Voices of Refugee Youth: A Survey of the Issues and Challenges for Young People At Risk from New and Emerging Communities 2005-2007 (MRCSA, 2008), supports that their
refugee/migration experience is unique and that their settlement needs are specific. Some young people may also be at risk and need to deal with issues around culture, language, religious identity, grief and loss, the justice system, consumer culture and intergenerational tension. Young people also need ways of dealing with race,
racism and their identity.
The MRCSA Youth Empowerment Program has advocated for and provided a voice for the inclusion and participation of young people of refugee background, and engages them at all levels to ensure that they develop a belief in themselves.
The Youth Empowerment Program for 2008-2009 provided insights and learnings that informed and will continue to inform continuous service improvement and program development for young people from diverse refugee backgrounds. These insights and learnings emanated from the young people themselves through their dialogue, debate, workshops and forums, and contributions to research.
Some of the key learnings included:
1. It is important that young people are enabled and supported to shape and manage their own activities and development.
2. Many young people from new and emerging communities are keen to develop their leadership skills and to apply them within their peer groups, ethnic communities and the broader community.
3. Training is required for youth workers across all sectors to assist them in developing their cultural competencies and expertise in working with young people from new and emerging communities.
4. Mentoring, where mutually agreed, can provide a powerful impetus for effective settlement.
This report outlines how these and other key learnings have and will underpin improvements to service delivery and program development by young people in the program during 2008-2009 (and beyond). Young people
from new and emerging communities, and particularly the young leaders involved in Multicultural Youth Link SA, will continue to play a central role in driving the MRCSA Youth Empowerment Program agenda.
Read more:295100_72415_youth book MRCSA.pdf
Submitted by:
Eugenia Tsoulis
CEO
MRCSA
59 King William Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000
ph:(08) 8217 9510
email: admin@mrcsa.com.au
web: www.mrcsa.com.au
Categories:
Categories:Advocacy, Art and Culture, Community Development, Employment, Other, Youth
Themes:Leadership, community development, empowerment
Release Date:28-Oct-2009
Date of Study:28-Oct-2009
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