The Youth Coalition provides a number of sector development activities to workers and services in the youth and community sectors; that focus on information provision, training, networking, resource development, collaborations and partnerships. These activities aim to support workers and services to build their capacity and improve their practice in working with young people in the ACT.
Youth Coalition Sector Development activities include:
- eBulletin: A summary of important activities, events, resources and information relating to young people and the youth sector in the ACT
Forums: Open forums that provide workers with opportunities to network, hear from guest speakers and share information - Training: Regular training opportunities provided by the Youth Coalition for workers and services that work with young people;
- Multicultural Youth Affairs Network: A Network that seeks to progress issues for multicultural young people (particularly those who are newly arrived or of refugee background) aged 12 – 25 years in the ACT
- Youth Housing Homelessness Forum: A Network that seeks to provide a forum for housing and homelessness providers to improve their practice in supporting young people in the ACT who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness
- Annual YOGIE Awards: These Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in youth work, and are held in December each year
The Youth Coalition eBulletin is a concise summary of important developments, publications, events and other youth-related information for the ACT. Topics include: News from the Youth Coalition; a monthly youth sector update; information on networks, resources and fact-sheets for workers; training and professional development opportunities; new and emerging research and reports; government policy activities; media releases; sector activities and events; a section for young people; employment; and grants and funding opportunities.
The Youth Worker Practice Network (YWPN) is a Community of Practice for youth workers in the ACT. The YWPN is coordinated by the Youth Coalition of the ACT, and advised by a group of experienced youth work practitioners from a range of community organisations and youth programs.
All youth workers in the ACT & surrounding region are invited to apply for membership to the Youth Worker Practice Network.
‘Youth Worker’, for the purpose of membership in the YWPN, is defined as:
- A worker currently employed in a role where their job title or position description includes ‘youth worker’, or
- A worker currently employed in a role where they work with young people (aged 12-25), and utilise youth work skills.
Aims of the Youth Worker Practice Network
The Youth Worker Practice Network will:
- Bring together new and experienced youth practitioners from a range of programs and organisations working with young people in the ACT;
- Enable workers to share their knowledge and insight into current and / or common issues faced by young people in the ACT;
- Provide an opportunity for workers to identify gaps in their own individual learning, or in practice knowledge in the sector, and for these gaps to be addressed;
- Provide an avenue for experienced workers to pass on the skills and knowledge gained from working in the youth sector over a period of time; and,
- Develop the practice of frontline workers, as they raise questions and discuss the issues they face in both their individual practice, and in the programs in which they work.
The Youth Coalition is strongly committed to progressing the further development and sustainability of the youth sector in the ACT, through the implementation of sector development and workforce development initiatives. The Youth Coalition has been undertaking sector development activities for a number of years, particularly focusing on resource development and information dissemination, training and professional development opportunities, and networking and partnership activities. Through the policy and sector development activities implemented by the Youth Coalition, it has become clear that broader, sector-wide strategies also need to be identified to support the future development and capacity of the youth sector.
The Youth Coalition is currently involved in a number of working groups and projects which are looking at the ACT Community Sector Workforce.
The Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (MYAN) ACT seeks to improve supports for multicultural young people, strengthen multicultural youth services (locally and nationally), strengthen connections between ‘mainstream’ and multicultural youth services, and raise the profile of multicultural youth issues in the ACT.
MYAN ACT has a focus on sector development to improve the capacity of services to support young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This includes young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, asylum seekers and newly arrived young people, as well as first and second generation Australians.
For more information about MYAN ACT contact info@youthcoalition.net.
MYAN ACT is affiliated with the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN Australia).
Click here for more information about MYAN Australia.
The Youth Coalition hosts the Youth Housing and Homelessness Forum (YHHF) every two months. The Forums are held on the first Tuesday of the month, from 9.30 – 10:30am. All services and government agencies are welcome. The first YHHF for 2017 will be held on Tuesday 6th of January, 9:30 – 10:30am.
The YHHF aims to provide a forum for housing and homelessness providers to improve their practice in supporting young people who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness in the ACT. The objectives of the YHHF are:
- To provide further opportunity for all youth housing and homelessness providers to share information and identify collaborative opportunities
- To provide a forum to discuss, identify and address practice issues
- To provide an opportunity for housing and homelessness providers to feed issues that affect young people accessing their service directly to the Youth Coalition and to each other
- To identify and contribute to the evidence base informing practice
- To collectively progress strategic issues relating to housing and homelessness services in the ACT and surrounding area
The Annual Yogie Awards (the YOGIES) recognise, celebrate, promote and reward outstanding practice in working with young people in the ACT and surrounding area. The YOGIES highlight the exceptional commitment, talent and innovation that exist in the youth sector.
The YOGIES are presented annually by the ACT Minister for Children and Young People. Awards are presented in categories that recognise the work of groups and individuals, with young people, workers, individuals, programs and services invited to provide nominations. A judging panel determines the winners, with the exclusion of the Staff Acknowledgement Award. The judging panel is comprised of a representative from the Youth Coalition, a representative from the Community Services Directorate, and a representative from the community youth sector. The winner of the Staff Acknowledgement Award is identified by the Youth Coalition staff team.
The YOGIES are an opportunity for youth and allied services to promote their initiatives, programs and workers to the sector and the community as a whole.
Click here to view the winners for the 2017 Yogie Awards.
Click here to view the winners for the 2016 Yogie Awards.
Click here to view the winners for the 2015 Yogie Awards.
