Youth Bulletin
Issue 15, March 2008
Welcome to the first edition of the source
Youth Bulletin for 2008.
This month’s edition contains the following articles:
- National Youth Week set to Rock at Video Hits Live Concert
- Update on 2020 Youth Summit
- Awesome prizes for Young Australian Talent
- Youth team hits the road
- National Binge Drinking Strategy
- Eureka Prize
- National Youth Roundtable
National Youth Week set to Rock at Video Hits Live Concert
Martin
Place in Sydney will rock on Saturday 5 April as National Youth Week 2008 is
launched at a live Video Hits concert. The concert will be broadcast live on
Channel Ten’s Video Hits with performances by The Presets, Operator Please,
Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem.
The launch marks the beginning of a week packed with events taking place around Australia between 5 and 13 April. Two thousand young people attended the free concert to celebrate the launch last year and it was broadcast live to more than 1.2 million Aussie viewers.
Shout. Share. Live. Unite is the theme for National Youth Week 2008, where thousands of events, concerts and competitions will be held to celebrate Australia’s youth between April 5 and 13, 2008.
National Youth Week is designed to give all young Australians aged between 12 to 25 a chance to celebrate being young and having their voice heard on issues and ideas that are important to them.
National Youth Week is a joint Australian, State, Territory and Local Government initiative.
For more information, check out www.youthweek.com and www.videohits.com.au.
Update on 2020 Youth Summit
The 2020 Youth Summit will be held in the lead up to the Australia 2020 Summit.
The Youth Summit will be held on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April at Australia’s
Parliament House.
After an overwhelming response the final 100 delegates have been announced by The Hon. Kate Ellis MP, Minister for Youth. The delegates aged between 15-24 years of age have been selected to attend the Youth Summit in Canberra, where ten critical challenges for Australia’s future will be discussed and debated.
The ten critical areas of discussion are:
- Future directions for the Australian economy – including education, skills, training, science and innovation as part of the nation’s productivity agenda;
- Economic infrastructure, the digital economy and the future of our cities;
- Population, sustainability, climate change and water;
- Future directions for rural industries and rural communities;
- A long-term national health strategy – including the challenges of preventative health, workforce planning and the ageing population;
- Strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion;
- Options for the future of indigenous Australia;
- Towards a creative Australia: the future of the arts, film and design;
- The future of Australian governance: renewed democracy, a more open government (including the role of the media), the structure of the Federation and the rights and responsibilities of citizens; and
- Australia’s future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world.
Youth Summit delegates will bring a balance of diverse backgrounds, skills and knowledge to the discussions. The final 100 delegates will discuss the ten critical areas on the agenda for the Australia 2020 Summit, as well as options for the new Australian Youth Forum.
The Summit will be co-chaired by the Minister for Youth, the Hon Kate Ellis MP and Hugh Evans, Young Australian of the Year for 2004.
To view the list of successful applicants, click here:
Awesome prizes for Young Australian Talent
The National Youth Week Talent competitions close on Monday 14 April 2008. Get your entries in, there is not long to go!
As part of National Youth Week 2008 five National Talent Competitions – RockIT, WriteIT, ShootIT, DesignIT and SnapIT – is held as a way of unearthing some of Australia’s youngest and most dynamic musicians, writers, film-makers, designers and photographers. And there are some awesome prizes to be won!
So, be in the running to win some awesome prizes to the value of $5000 each, including:
- a music voucher from Allans
- Apple computer package
- Sony cinematography pack
- Nikon photography pack.
The Industry Awards are chosen by an expert in each creative field, while the People’s Choice Awards will be decided through an online voting system, where young people can vote for their pick of short listed entries.
Young people aged between 12 and 25 years can also enter the Win Free Stuff competitions, by answering simple questions or providing their opinions online.
The National Talent Competition is known for discovering talent such as the Aria award winning band, Operator Please, who were the 2006 RockIT finalist.
Click here to see the 2007 winning entries: http://youthweek.com/talent_comps/07_winners.html.
Entries for both the National Talent Competition and Win Free Stuff Competitions close at 5pm AEST Monday 14 April 2008, with winners announced in June 2008.
Visit http://youthweek.com/wfs/index.html for details.
Youth team hits the road
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) youth team will soon be ‘on tour’ around the country, speaking directly to young people about careers, training and education options at the Employer of Choice expos during April to June 2008.
This year, several initiatives will be incorporated into a one-stop-shop stand where young people will be able to find assistance in choosing and pursuing a career path.
The Youth Team will be providing information on support programs and resources, such as:
- JobJuice
- MyFuture
- The Source
- Australian JobSearch
- Indigenous programs
- Australian Apprenticeships
- Career Advice Australia.
Visitors to the Employer of Choice expos will be able to browse websites such as JobJuice and MyFuture at the stall, and find useful information to help them make life changing decisions about training, education and jobs.
To find your closest venue, please see the table of locations below:
2008 EVENT DATES AND VENUES
| Perth | 4-5 April | Perth Convention Exhibition Centre |
| Hobart | 18-19 April | Derwent Entertainment Centre |
| Townsville | 22 April | Townsville Entertainment Centre |
| Adelaide | 2-3 May | Adelaide Showground |
| Melbourne | 16-17 May | Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre |
| Brisbane | 23-24 May | Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre |
| Canberra | 21 June | Canberra Exhibition Park |
| Darwin | 29-30 August | Darwin Convention Centre |
More information about the expos can be viewed at:
National Binge Drinking Strategy
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently announced the National Binge Drinking Strategy which focuses on reducing the level of binge drinking among young people. The strategy is aimed at tackling the issue at a community level, incorporating a ‘confronting’ multi-media campaign addressing the consequences of binge drinking.
The strategy will introduce new initiatives working with sporting clubs and community groups to change the culture that leads young people binge drinking.
So what is binge drinking?
The Reach Out website defines binge drinking as drinking heavily over a short period of time, or drinking continuously over a number of days or weeks. It is also commonly known as 'getting smashed', or 'drinking to get drunk'.
Short term, this can lead to people putting themselves in dangerous situations and taking risks with their health and wellbeing. Long term the risks include alcohol dependence, health problems and depression.
Is there really a binge drinking problem?
The 2005 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey reported that approximately one in ten 12 to 17 year olds reported binge drinking or drinking at risky levels every week, with one in five 16 and 17 year olds reportedly drinking at a risky levels.
Binge drinking or drinking at a risky level was defined as seven or more drinks for males and five or more for females.
Related links:
Eureka Prize
Entries
and nominations are now invited for the Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in
Environmental Issues and Climate Change.
The prize is one of 20 on offer in this year's Australian Museum Eureka Prizes and one of only two in the category of Science Leadership.
Sponsored
by the British Council, the Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental
Issues and Climate Change is awarded to a young Australian aged 21 - 30 for
scientific or technological leadership in responding to the challenges that
threaten our environment and our climate.
The prize is intended to benefit outstanding young people who have demonstrated:
- Scientific or technological leadership which aims to improve the environment or reduce the impact of climate change, and,
- The potential to accelerate quickly into leadership positions in fields relevant to this prize.
The winner will receive a $10,000 study tour to the United Kingdom, organised by the British Council.
Entries CLOSE 2 May 2008. Finalists will be announced on 24 July.
Winners will be announced on 19 August.
For further information on the prize, judging criteria, and how to enter, go to
Australian Museum or
email Eureka.
National Youth Roundtable
The final National Youth Roundtable presentations were held at Parliament House on Monday 17 March 2008.
There were six project teams for Roundtable 2007 who worked on the following issues/topics: youth empowerment; rural development; cultural identity; health; stronger families; and mental health.
The Roundtable members achieved some significant outcomes including:
- The Mental Health team produced a website and short film trailer to promote mental health issues.
- The Rural Development team investigated the use of a website to promote services to attract and retain young people in rural areas.
- The Youth Empowerment team developed recommendations for youth consultation with government.
- The Cultural Identity team consulted with young people to develop a set of shared Australian values and has established a multimedia project for young Australians of all cultural backgrounds.
- The Stronger Families, Stronger Youth team produced a booklet on community ownership, responsibilities and action.
- The Health team developed the Youth Services Award program to recognise effective youth support and increase the quality of youth services available.
The teams presented their recommendations to Federal Ministers, Australian Government Department officials and staff members, young people and community members.
Left: Moses Gibson, former Roundtable member
from the Northern Territory, now working at the National Gallery in Canberra.
Moses gave the closing speech at the final National Youth Roundtable, 17 March
2008.
Right: Members of the final
National Youth Roundtable celebrate with Kate Ellis, Minister for Youth at
Parliament House. Left to right: Lauren Johnston, Aidan McMahon, Kaesahne Dean,
the Hon Kate Ellis MP, Sam Hadid and Mikael Dunlop.
Australian Youth Forum
At the conclusion to the National Youth Roundtable, the Hon Kate Ellis MP, Minister for Youth announced the commencement of formal consultations for the new Australian Youth Forum and released the discussion paper “The Australian Youth Forum – A New Era in Youth Consultation”.
The Australian Youth Forum will be broader in scope than the National Youth Roundtable and will provide a platform for young Australians to communicate with Government on an on-going basis.
The Australian Youth Forum consultation, currently open until 30 May 2008, seeks to allow young people, members of the youth sector and other interested parties to submit their ideas and thoughts on how this forum should be developed and operate.
A series of public meetings will be held in metropolitan and regional centres around Australia.
To read a copy of the Australian Youth Forum Discussion Paper and have your say on how the Forum will be developed go to the Australian Youth Forum page.
Consultation closes Friday 30 May 2008. Don’t forget to have your say.
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