Step Up students make an impact
Over the week of 30 November to 4 December, 30 students from secondary colleges around Victoria came together to ‘step up’. Inspired by their experiences at Cityscape with their classmates, these individuals applied for the opportunity to take their knowledge to the next level, and discover their potential for impact.
The week long camp involved a series of interactive discovery sessions, in which students challenged themselves and each other to step out of their comfort zones, and learn about the impact they have on themselves, others, and the world. The result was an emotional week that led the students, mentors and facilitators to a better understanding of their abilities and responsibilities.
Workshops included a hip-hop dance class, African drumming circle, community conversations with some of Melbourne’s most interesting and influential people, and many other creative and educational events.
The culmination of the week saw each of six mentor groups presenting their most influential moments and activities, teaching their new knowledge, and reliving the journey that took them from strangers to friends in five short days, in a final ‘Step Up Celebaloo’ for over 100 family members and friends.
Watch this space for some upcoming honest and personal responses recorded by students throughout the week.
2009 HEYWIRE Winners Announced
The 2009 winners of ABC Radio’s regional youth initiative Heywire were announced today.
Now in its twelfth year, Heywire is an online platform for creative young leaders from rural, regional and remote Australia to create, blog and share their stories. Read more
Support FYA’s Opportunity Scholarships
The Opportunity Scholarships and Opportunity Grants programs are initiatives of Education Foundation, a division of FYA, and articulate its central vision of a public education system that inspires and enables all young people in Australian “to achieve their best”.
Opportunity Scholarships have been awarded bi-annually since 2003 as a means of assisting public school students to “pursue their talents and aspirations”. Sums of up to $1000 enable talented individual students, defined as “facing disadvantage” and currently in receipt of an educational allowance, to undertake curriculum-based programs and activities in a range of areas and disciplines (arts, performing arts, maths/sciences, sport, communications, etc). Where Opportunity Scholarships target individual students, Opportunity Grants, initiated and piloted by Education Foundation in 2007, provide funding of up to $4000 to enable schools to address collective programming needs of groups of students.
You can support students in need by donating to FYA online
Young Social Pioneers
After months of searching, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has selected fourteen young people for its inaugural Young Social Pioneers program. Based on the International Youth Foundation’s global initiative, the program aims to support and celebrate the role of young people creating positive change in their communities.
Recession worsens ‘earning and learning’ conditions for young Australians new report finds
A major research report released 8 October by The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) reveals a sharp rise in the rate of youth ‘disengagement’ from work and study.
The 2009 How Young People are Faring (HYPAF) report shows that the proportion of teenagers not learning or earning full-time has jumped from 13.4% a year ago to 16.4%, the highest level since the recession of the early 1990s.
HYPAF is the pre-eminent national report on the learning and work situation of young Australians. This year’s report focuses on the global economic downturn and the subsequent impact on young people’s aspirations, employment opportunities and education pathways.
HYPAF 2009 was commissioned by FYA and prepared by the Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning (CPELL) at the University of Melbourne.
Dr Lucas Walsh, Director of Research at FYA is candid in his assessment of the report’s findings, “In the wake of both recent economic instability and longer term structural challenges, there is no doubt the conditions of earning and learning for young Australians have deteriorated in 2009,” says Dr Walsh.
The report also highlights that:
- the rate of unemployment among teenagers who were not in full-time education has risen from 12.2% in 2008 to 18.5% in 2009, one of the largest annual increases for teenagers over the past two decades;
- the proportion of teenagers not in full-time education or employment varies widely across states and territories, with the ACT having the lowest rate followed by Victoria and NSW;
- the last 12 months has seen reduced rates of entry into full-time work for school leavers;
- those young people living in the wealthiest areas are three times more likely to gain a university degree by the age of 24 than those in the poorest areas;
- females are nearly twice as likely as males to complete a university degree by the age of 23.
“These are concerning signs about the declining wellbeing of young Australians,” says Adam Smith, CEO at FYA. “In these turbulent times, the challenge for all of us is to provide innovative pathways and new opportunities for young people so that they can realise their full potential.”
The HYPAF report draws on the latest data from a range of sources including annual Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) surveys of education and work, monthly ABS national labour force surveys, and the Census of Population and Housing.
To read the report and related material, click on the links below. To download, right click and choose Save Target As.
Read the full report here.
Read HYPAF 2009: At A Glance here.
Read the HYPAF press release here.
Read the HYPAF 2009 Background Document here.
Read related press coverage at our Media Centre.
Read HYPAF 2008 here.
Youth has Decided
The Results are in!
37,432 young Australians around the nation voted last week in Youth Decide 2009. Faced with the option of three different worlds, this is what you chose:
- 34,267 (91.5%) voted for world 3 (40%+ emissions reductions)
- 2,225 (5.9%) voted for world 2 (25-40%+ emissions reductions)
- 940 (2.5%) voted for world 1 (4-24%+ emissions reductions)
97.5% of young people voted for emissions reductions stronger than those currently proposed by the government. Thanks to everyone who voted.
Youth Decide is more that a vote, it is a movement. Visit www.youthdecide.com.au to take the next step in getting youth voices heard!
Schools First Award Winners Announced
It’s official – we know who the 2009 Seed Funding award winners are!!! This year’s winners were selected from over 600 Australian schools that submitted an application in this category.
The top-ranked applicants were all assessed by a minimum of four different judges.
Congratulations to the below Schools First Seed Funding award winners for 2009 for winning $25,000 each!
Deniliquin North Public School, NSW
Clontarf Aboriginal College, WA
Endeavour Hills Secondary College, VIC
Corinda State High School, QLD
Southport State High School, QLD
Southside Education, QLD
Mount Carmel College, TAS
Warrnambool College, VIC
Wesley College, VIC
Sapphire Coast Anglican College, NSW
Engadine High School, NSW
Croxton Specialist School, VIC
Maroondah Secondary College, VIC
Pinjarra Senior High School, WA
Thuringowa State High School, QLD
Kurunjang Secondary College, VIC
Echuca Specialist School, VIC
Holland Street School, WA
Sunshine Beach State High School, QLD
Lucas Heights Community School, NSW
Click here for more information on the winners!
The Gathering
Members of the next generation of Indigenous leaders came together for The Gathering in Brisbane 9-12 September to celebrate their achievements as part of the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program.
The Australian Government’s IYLP initiative is helping to close the gap on Indigenous educational disadvantage through scholarships for Indigenous students, mostly from remote and regional areas, to attend high performing secondary schools (day and boarding, government and non-government) and universities.
Funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), FYA has delivered IYLP over 2006-2009 with Cape York Institute and Yalari Ltd joining FYA in 2008.
The IYLP is supporting Indigenous students achieve Year 12 attainment and/or completion of a university degree.
Since 2006, 72 secondary students have graduated year 12 as part of the IYLP, another 289 secondary and 49 tertiary students are currently receiving scholarships. To date, the IYLP is enjoying a 90% retention rate, a strong endorsement for the program and its objectives.
The Gathering convened at Rydges Hotel in Brisbane, bringing together over 200 young Indigenous students from across remote, regional, and metropolitan Australia. These students were engaged by a diverse range of expert facilitators, who inspired, mentored and extended students through open discussion, leadership exercises and cultural activities.
View images from YAC 2009!
500 students took part in the 2009 Youth Action Conference at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. They had the opportunity to engage in four change-making workshops, visit over 20 stalls hosted by organisations dedicated to change, and listen to several inspiring speakers, including Alischa Ross, CEO of Y.E.A.H (Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS), Nik Tan, overseeing coordinator of SAIL (Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning Program), and several students from Eltham College presenting their ruMAD? social change projects. Jungle City Massive performed a music story for conference participants. Two student change-makers, Nargis from Noble Park Secondary College and Marija from Bentley Secondary School, both hosted the conference as co-MC’s.
Thursday was a professional development day for educators, academics, parents, youth professionals, policymakers, pre-service teachers, and anyone else wanting to learn more about education outside the classroom.
The conference gave participants the opportunity to create real connections for change! Read more and see some images here
ARACY Conference 2009
The 2009 ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth) Conference is focused on the theme of Transforming Australia for our children’s future: Making prevention work. As a conference partner, FYA supports ARACY’s mission to create better futures for all Australia’s children and young people. Read more
