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Welcome to our December 2022 newsletter!
Another year is coming to a close, and we are excited to share our final 2022 newsletter with you!
It has been a privilege for MYAN to spend another memorable year working alongside amazing young people from all over the country. Read on for updates from the team, including our recent submission on ‘ A migration system for Australia’s future’, a message for our alumni, a recap of MYAN’s highlights for 2022 and more!
We truly value your support, and we wish you a safe and joyful festive season.
The MYAN team.
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Thank you for supporting us in 2022! We wish you a happy holiday season.
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#Staystrongtogether Campaign
In response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases and to help people make informed decision on vaccine, MYAN launched the #Staystrongtogether campaign on 28 November 2022. This campaign was aimed to bring together messages and information regarding the vaccine and booster for the young people to help them and their surrounding keep safe from the virus and be able to enjoy the festive season.
To know more about the campaign and messages check MYAN instagram page. Or log onto the MYAN website
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Participate in #Staystrongtogether Campaign
and win prizes worth hundreds!
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MYAN has opened up the #Staystrongcampaign for everyone in the community to participate. In response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases and to help people make informed decision on vaccine, MYAN launched the #Staystrongtogether campaign.
All you need to do is submit a creative piece - a poem, an artwork, a design, a poster, or a video in your regional language or in English through the link below.
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Submissions close on 7th January 2023.
To check out our previous competitions and the winners click here
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Submission to the 'Migration System for Australia's Future' Discussion Paper
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MYAN welcomes the opportunity to provide a response to the Department of Home Affairs’ discussion paper on ‘A migration system for Australia’s future.’ It presents an important opportunity to reflect on Australia’s Migration Program and plan for a program that equally:
1. Meets the economic needs of Australia,
2. Upholds our global commitments to providing resettlement through the Humanitarian program, and
3. Ensures that economic benefits are balanced with adequate support to migrants and investment in social cohesion.
As Australia plans to recover from the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and once again responds to existing and emerging migration crises across the world, MYAN believes now is an opportune time to reflect on, and review the existing successes, strengths, and gaps of the current migration program.
Read MYAN's submission here
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We had a great time hosting our end of year celebration with young people across our youth leadership networks. It was an opportunity to reflect on their work in the past year, celebrate achievements and acknowledge their growth and hopes for the future.
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MYAN Youth Leaders Appointed to the Australian Youth Steering Committee
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Congratulations to Cindy and Nayonika who have been appointed to the Australian Government Youth Steering Committee. The committee will support the establishment of the Youth Engagement Model, providing advice and feedback on government engagement with young people.
Cindy shared that "it felt like a great community... people are keen to get things done". She says, "I am excited to get things going and have the voices of young people heard at the federal level." Nayonika says she is hopeful; ‘I think it is safe to say that everyone was very excited to see where this takes us. It was super promising to meet the Minister who is genuinely so invested in this portfolio, it really did give everyone a nice boost and reassured us that our excitement would be guided by the right people to achieve something super meaningful."
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Join MYAN’s Alumni Network
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MYAN is working towards connecting and showcasing its alumni. If you have been part of MYAN in the past, we want to hear from you, your journey, and your evolution in the advocacy/leadership space or otherwise. We also hope to learn about your experience at MYAN in retrospect and hear your insight!
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MYAN receives Pride Foundation Australia X Sidney Myer Fund major grant
This project has been one of our key priorities and a great opportunity for MYAN to focus on a new area of research in 2022. Our team has worked to develop a national survey and undertook consultations to explore specific settlement experiences and subsequent needs of young LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.
It has been a journey full of learnings and growth. We are now in the final stages of this project and are looking forward to sharing more about it in 2023.
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MYAN’s 2022 Federal Election Policy Platform
Ahead of the federal elections this year MYAN launched its election policy platform to outline the key issues that require immediate action from an incoming government. Those key issues are:
- - Youth Representation
- - Humanitarian/Migration
- - Education
- - Employment & Income
- - Mental Health
- - Racism & Social Cohesion
- - Digital Safety
We have since seen investment in those issues through the consultation of young people prior to the Skills & Employability Summit and through the establishment of the Youth Steering Committee. We hope for much more to come.
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MYAN attends International Migration Review Forum at UN Headquarters in New York
The IMRF was an important opportunity to network with others to discuss strategies and identify opportunities for advancing the engagement of, and the contributions of children and young people in migration policy.
MYAN will continue to share good practice and provide policy and technical support to enhance adolescent and youth-focussed responses in policy and programming in host communities and the forced migration context. We hope to do this by updating the National Youth Settlement Framework (NYSF) in 2023, a process that has already started this year.
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MYAN In-person Youth Leadership Retreat
Since our in-person retreat in July with the new 2022 Youth Ambassadors and other young people in our network, MYAN is proud to share that our young people have continued to stay active and engaged with many exciting projects. This year YAN has done lots of capacity building and planning for exciting things coming in the new year. Stay tuned for more!
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The Award Winning “Day in our life” Series: An Example of Good Practice
MYAN’s Day in the Life series received international recognition and was one of a select number of good practice on youth engagement in COVID-19 response. Mehak Sheik, a participant on the project and MYAN’s past Youth Leadership Officer, reflected on her experience being part of the project, “ ‘The reason this project was effective is because we as participants had creative freedom, it was open and not pushing for a specific agenda, instead it let young people create their own agenda. It also mattered that we were engaged and continue to be involved in the youth space…It was also an opportunity to provide alternative narratives to what was being said about young people in mainstream media at that time. It helped youth like me to manage and navigate the expectations of having to optimise lockdown time and be ‘productive’’’
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Australian Human Rights Commission National Anti-Racism Framework Scoping Report
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In March 2021, The Race Discrimination Commissioner called for a National Anti-Racism Framework. In response, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is drafting the National Anti-Racism Framework and has consulted with different communities and groups across the country to help inform the framework.
MYAN has previously called for the development of a national anti-racism strategy, with the understanding that it would provide critical guidance for supporting and resourcing coordinated action to address racism and discrimination in Australia. MYAN Chair, Carmel Guerra, has said that “a National Anti-Racism framework will create the conditions for a healthy and productive society and a stronger sense of safety and inclusion for everyone.”
The National Anti-Racism Framework will play a critical role in promoting safer and more welcoming communities, thus leading to more positive settlement outcomes for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The Australian Government’s commitment of funding to the Commission for a National Anti-Racism Strategy will allow for further comprehensive consultations and co-design processes in advancing a National Anti-Racism Framework.
MYAN is excited to see that the interim project report for the initial scoping phase of the project is now complete and available on the Commission’s website.
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Have your say in the National Stigma and Reduction Strategy
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The National Mental Health Commission has shared their National Stigma and Reduction Strategy for consultation. The Strategy is open for feedback which you can provide by completing one or more of the surveys. There are 3 surveys targeted towards:
1. Feedback on proposed actions
2. Carers, Families and Support People
3. People working in services & Systems
Find out more about the strategy here.
The consultation period on the draft Strategy will close on 1 February 2023.
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National Multiculturalism Survey by FECCA
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The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia has launched a national survey to delve into the everyday reality of multiculturalism in Australia from the perspective of multicultural people who live here. This survey will help the multicultural sector, and policy makers understand the present and build a better future.
Click here to find out more about the survey and here to complete the survey.
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2023 Queer Displacements conference
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The #queerdisplacements conference is created to champion the voices and the lived experience of LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people. It is the space for awareness raising, solidarity, building alliances and engaging the whole of society in ensuring justice, protection and solutions for LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement.
The theme of the 2023 conference is Leadership, Partnership and Belonging. LGBTIQ+ displacement is no longer about storytelling. It is about leadership and belonging.
The 2023 Queer Displacements will foreground the leadership of LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people and best and emerging practices of supports of these communities, all with a common goal of achieving belonging and ending displacement.
The conference is taking place 22-23 February 2023 in Sydney.
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Mission Australia Youth Survey Report 2022
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Between April and August this year, Mission Australia’s 21st annual Youth Survey was completed by 18,800 young people aged 15 to 19 years across Australia. This report details the findings of the survey and provides compelling insight into the challenges, concerns and experiences of young people.
Young people have identified the environment, equity and discrimination and mental health as the top national issues that they want Australia to address in 2022.
For the first time, we took a deep dive into young people’s suggested solutions to the challenges they face. Young people voiced the importance of asking friends, family and health professionals for support, the need for learning strategies to reduce stress and more emphasis on mental health and wellbeing at school.
The Youth Survey Report 2022 has also revealed that: 1 in 10 young people worried about having a safe place to stay in the last year.
- - Over one in 20 young people or their families sought financial help from family, friends or charity in the last year,
- - Over one-quarter reported being unfairly treated in the past year, mostly due to their gender, race/cultural background or mental health,
- - Almost three in 10 young people indicated high psychological distress and almost one-quarter felt lonely all or most of the time.
This report has timely information that we hope will inform policy development at Federal and State and Territory levels. The summary booklet and the full report can be downloaded here. Sub-reports for each state and territory are also available to download here.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Information Pack for Multicultural Communities
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Translated information in this information pack includes:
- - Benefits of COVID-19 vaccination
- - Third and fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccines
- - Children and COVID-19 vaccines
- - Pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines
- - Getting vaccinated after testing positive for COVID-19
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Monitoring your COVID-19 Symptoms
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For more translated information on:
- - How to monitor your COVID-19 symptoms,
- - Accessing expert health advice in your language,
- - COVID-19 Symptom and Antiviral Eligibility Checker,
- - Deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
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What more would you like to hear from MYAN?
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