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Pictured: The cohort of young leaders who participated in the National Anti-Racism Youth Leadership Initiative with Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr. Tim Southphommassane, on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.
AHRC & MYAN Australia National Anti-Racism Youth Leadership Initiative
Last week saw Australia's first-ever national anti-racism youth leadership initiative held in Melbourne - a partnership between the Australian Human Rights Commission and MYAN Australia. Led by the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr. Tim Soutphommassane, as part of the National Anti-Racism Partnership and Strategy, the initiative brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and multicultural youth leaders from across Australia to build their skills, knowledge and networks to engage in anti-racism advocacy. The 2-day event included opportunities for participants to learn from leaders in the media, private sector, government and MPs, with site visits to the Victorian Parliament and the AFL. Participants left Melbourne feeling inspired about new skills, knowledge, and networks and keen to create change in their communities. MYAN thanks Dr. Tim Soutphommassane for his work on this initiative and we look forward to exploring with the AHRC how the initiative might be delivered in the future.
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Pictured L-R: Mehak Sheikh, MYAN Youth Leadership Officer, Megan Mitchell, National Children's Commissioner and Derya Koksal, MYAN Policy & Advocacy Officer
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National Children's Commissioner Roundtable on the CRC Reporting to the UN Committee
MYAN was pleased to be part of a national roundtable convened by Australia's National Children's Commissioner on Reporting to the U.N Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). MYAN shared a national perspective on the situation of access to rights by children and young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. MYAN is also working with Australian Child Rights Taskforce made up of NGOs around the country to prepare the NGO report. For more information contact derya@myan.org.au to contribute to MYAN's work on the CRC reporting.
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News from states and territories
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CMY Strategic Plan 2018-2030
CMY launched their Strategic Plan for 2018-2030, outlining four key focus areas in their work supporting young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. CMY also produced a fantastic short film to support the launch of the plan, which looks towards the future. Some of the young people at the heart of CMY's work discuss what matters most to them, to frame a vision for the year 2030.
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MYAN NSW Refugee Youth Peer Mentoring Project
A recent initiative by MYAN NSW used participatory design methods to create a peer mentoring scheme for young people from refugee backgrounds in NSW. The aim of the process was to involve young people at every stage to ensure they designed a program for and with them. The final report of the Project is available here. This video highlights how participatory design was used and what young people involved thought of the process.
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National Policy
MY Australia Census results - Report released
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Nearly 2000 young people aged 15-25 from refugee and migrant backgrounds took part in Australia's first-ever Multicultural Youth Census led by the Youth Research Centre, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne and CMY. MYAN partners across Australia are involved in this important 3-year ARC linkage project, which provides a comprehensive national account of how young young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Australia are faring. See infographic results and read the related article here.
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Report of the Inquiry into school to work transition
The final report of the Inquiry into School to Work Transition by the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, titled Unique Individuals, Broad Skills was released on 30th May. MYAN made a submission to the Inquiry last year calling for recognition of specific needs of multicultural students and investment in VET and apprenticeships for young refugees and migrants and is pleased to see the Committee’s final report reflects these recommendations.
Submission on Australia’s Humanitarian Programme 2018-19
MYAN made a submission to the Department of Home Affairs on Australia’s Humanitarian Programme 2018-19. MYAN’s submission focused on strengthening Australia’s position as a global leader in the resettlement of children and adolescents at risk, through the Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors Programme. We also made recommendations in relation to continuing the investment in youth-specific settlement services, increasing family reunification for young people and introducing youth-sensitive sponsorship through the Community Support Program.
'(Re)-claiming social capital' - Report on refugee students’ experiences of transitioning into and participating in higher education
The final Report from the ‘(Re)Claiming social capital: improving language and cultural pathways for students from refugee backgrounds into Australian higher education’ has been released. The research by the Department of Education and Training conducted by the University of Newcastle, Curtin University and Macquarie University finds that transition into higher education is strongly influenced by a student’s age, familial responsibilities, future vision support networks and understanding of higher education, as well as by persistent challenges faced in educational and settlement contexts.
Building a New Life in Australia: Settlement humanitarian outcomes of youth and active citizenship
MYAN Australia worked with AIFS BNLA research team to produce the latest research summary on how young people aged 15-25 years old from humanitarian backgrounds are settling in Australia. Using data from the BNLA study and MYAN's National Youth Settlement Framework, the summary finds that humanitarian youth improve their English skills and show increased participation to study or training over time. Young people from humanitarian backgrounds also demonstrate increased integration through wider social networks, however they also report increased discrimination over time which impact their well-being negatively. Read the research summary here.
Submission to Labor's National Platform Consultation Draft
MYAN made a submission on the Consultation Draft of Labor's National Platform. MYAN recommended that the Platform include a specific and ongoing commitment to youth-specific settlement services, an end to the detention of children and young people in immigration detention onshore and offshore, and an increase in intake through the Australia’s Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minor Programme. We were pleased to see that the Platform commits to maintaining the Minister for Youth, however we regret that it does not commit for funding for a national youth peak body.
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International
Draft 3 of the Global Compact on Refugees
Draft 3 of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) has been released on 4th June 2018. MYAN has continued its advocacy to ensure that youth rights are adequately reflected in the GCR and is pleased to see that Draft 3 is more inclusive of the specific rights, needs and capabilities of young refugees, reflecting some of MYAN's recommendations on earlier drafts. Read MYAN’s Response to Draft 3 here.
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Narayan, MYAN NSW representative, speaks out for youth voices in Parliament
MYAN NSW Youth Ambassador Narayan Khanal has been the voice for youth in Federal Parliament, having his speech about youth participation in decision making read out during a sitting by Julie Owens MP, who committed to presenting speeches by young people during Youth Week. Watch the clip of Narayan's submission.
New changes to Citizenship bill to be introduced to the Parliament this month
The Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Commitments for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2018 is set to be introduced to the Parliament this month.
The new bill makes several changes to citizenship requirements including changing the period of permanent residency from one year to four, a modest English language requirement, a new values test, and stronger character checks. The relevant Committee conducted a survey in April which showed 89.81% of the 140,646 respondents do not support proposed amendments. MYAN made a submission to the Committee to recommend against the changes. Read this submission here and more about the amendment poll in the Guardian here and SBS here. Read more about the introduction of the Bill here.
Good Shepherd backs strong measures to tackle forced marriage
An announcement has been made by the Australian Labor Party for new forced marriage policies to address growing concerns over the prevalence of forced marriage and child marriage in Australia. Good Shepherd welcomes the announcement after long advocating for prevention and early intervention measures to address forced marriage.
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Opportunities
Refugee Week 2018
MYAN will be standing #WithRefugees over Refugee Week 2018 to promote positive narratives and raise awareness about the issues impacting refugees. MYAN will be sharing content produced by young people from refugee backgrounds and for this week only, our film series Life in Australia: Celebrating young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds will be available for streaming on our Facebook page. Be sure to also follow MYAN on Twitter and Instagram to avoid missing out! There's plenty of events happening across the country for Refugee Week, and plenty of ways to get involved and help make a difference.
Symposium on higher education for people from refugee backgrounds Opening Universities for Refugees 3C Symposium on higher education and people from refugee backgrounds will be held at UNSW on 20th and 21st November 2018. This free forum will seek to build effective collaborations among participants and institutions leading to new initiatives to increase access to higher education opportunities.
Australian Human Rights Commission - Human Rights Awards Nominations
Nominations for the 2018 Human Rights Awards are now open. The awards acknowledge the contribution of individuals and organisations in promoting and protecting human rights and freedoms. Sign up for the Human Rights Awards newsletter for regular updates or visit the Human Rights Awards website for more information.
Australian Migration and Settlement Awards
Nominations for the 2019 Migration and Settlement Awards by the Migration Council of Australia are now open. The awards recognise the good work of organisations and individuals that assist new migrants and refugees to settle, to feel included and to participate. The Migration and Settlement Awards will showcase the best these organisations have to offer, promote innovative ideas and highlight individual excellence. Find out more here.
Youth Employment Forum
The 5th Future of Youth Employment Forum offers a unique opportunity to engage with cross-sector experts working to tackle youth unemployment across the board. With presentations from key leaders in State and Federal Government, the Education and NFP sector, the forum focusses on a ‘how to’ approach to engage, prepare and support young Australians into work through meaningful and sustainable pathways and targeted support. Earlybird discounts available before 15th June.
SBS survey
SBS Australia is conducting a survey to understand how audiences who speak a language other than English consume content across Television, Online and Radio. Responses will be instrumental in shaping the future of SBS for years to come. The questionnaire is available in 8 languages (Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Italian, Greek and English). The survey takes 5-7 minutes, and participants go into the draw to win one of three $200 gift cards. Take the survey here.
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DSS has expanded its free interpreting service through TIS National. The Free Interpreting Service aims to provide equitable access to key services, that are not government funded, for people with limited or no English language proficiency. Non-government organisations are eligble to access the free service to provide services.
The Toolkit for Intercultural Learning has been developed for the context of youth work and non-formal education with young people for personal development, social integration and active citizenship of young people. Educators, trainers and youth workers could utilise the Toolkit for addressing intercultural learning in their work with young people. The toolkit also includes a list of education activities.
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The Coalition to End Child Detention has created a set of Tools for Change to support people wanting to advocate with decision-makers to end the detention of children.
Save the Children released its second End of Childhood Index 2018, comparing the latest data of 175 countries. It assesses where the most and fewest children and missing out on childhood. The Index found since its previous report in 2017, conditions for children have improved in most parts of the world in terms of poverty, conflict and discrimination against girls.
FYA has released a new report on Preparing young people for the new work reality which reveals the factors that accelerate the transition to full-time work, including the skills, mindset and confidence young people need to navigate our changed world of work.
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