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Marita Cheng: Young Australian of the Year 2012
Engineering visionary - While still a university student, Marita Cheng has demonstrated vision and leadership well beyond her years and is dedicated to encouraging young women to become interested in a career in engineering. The daughter of Chinese parents, Marita was born and raised in far north Queensland and now studies at the University of Melbourne. She founded Robogals Global in 2008, as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in engineering and technology.
Robogals uses fun and educational activities to teach schoolgirls about engineering and the difference that engineers make to our lives. Already Robogals has run robotics workshops for 3,000 girls across 80 schools in Australia and now has 17 chapters across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Marita's career path includes studying for a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Computer Science on a Paterson Scholarship. She has a Nancy Fairfax Churchill Fellowship, an International Youth Foundation YouthActionNet Fellowship and an Anita Borg Change Agent Award. A former panellist on ABC TV's New Inventors program, Marita plans to start a robotics company, creating robots that will take care of many everyday and mundane tasks. Already she has changed the way that girls view their capacity to contribute to engineering and technology.
www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/?m=marita-cheng-2012
Pub with no staff: young Australians steer clear of dirty work
Pulling beers and waiting on tables is a quintessential part of student life but young Australians are turning their nose up at dirty bar work. While youth unemployment is rising, the federal government is considering importing thousands of overseas bartenders, chefs and waiters to fill the jobs the industry says locals do not want. But the government's plan reeked of laziness on behalf of employers not young people, Bill Mitchell of the University of Newcastle, said. Despite an overall jobless rate of 5.2%, teenage unemployment jumped from 13.6% in December 2008 to 17.3% last month and more than a quarter of workers aged 15-24 are either unemployed or underemployed. Young people were simply less willing to work in service jobs these days, the Tourism and Transport Forum's John Lee said. ''We live in a society … [where] young people seek work in that information-technology world rather than cleaning toilets or serving drinks,'' he said… smh.com.au 28/1/12 Read more
Ads are targeting alcopops drinkers on trainer wheels, says expert
A TWO-LITRE cask of Irish cream and butterscotch liqueur, a pack of 28 brightly coloured shots with flavours such as "chocolate banana split", and free nail polish with every bottle of sparkling wine. Easy-to-drink products along with social media marketing and product placement are part of a growing trend of alcohol marketing to teenagers, according to a leading public health expert. Professor Mike Daube said sweet, creamy and brightly coloured products were "alcopops for drinkers on trainer wheels". A 2008 study by consumer group Choice found almost a third of young people could not detect the alcohol in creamy products including a "vodka mudshake"… smh.com.au 28/1/12 Read more
Vodka brand gets nod to add gloss to its marketing
An alcohol company has been given the green light to offer free lip gloss as a promotional tool because the make-up product does not appeal to young people, the alcohol industry's advertising complaints panel has determined. A research centre at Curtin University complained about the promotion, which offered a free Napoleon Perdis lip gloss with each bottle of Skyy Vodka bought from Thirsty Camel Bottleshops, arguing it was a clear attempt to appeal to young women and encourage under-age drinking… smh.com.au 23/1/12 Read more
Students don't see relevance in uni courses
ALMOST half the university students studying science, maths, technology and engineering do not think their course is relevant to Australian life. Universities Australia surveyed first-year university students and found they lacked appreciation of the relevance and role of those disciplines in their lives and communities, and of its potential for rewarding career opportunities. They are disillusioned with the subject matter and the way it is taught.
It follows a report in December showing that the number of HSC students taking science units has plummeted. Science degrees are in greater demand, with more students applying for university but gravitating towards health sciences as pure sciences lose favour… smh.com.au 20/1/12 Read more
These girls can teach boys a thing or two
THE bus stop in Avoca Street, Randwick, in Sydney's east, a congested swirl of teenagers heading home, might just be the start of something. Shared between Randwick Boys and Randwick Girls, the bus stop is not always a model of harmony. But it's the disharmony that provoked a positive response from Wayne Duncombe, the principal of Randwick Boys.
Each year on White Ribbon Day, a national day of action to help combat violence against women, senior girls cross the gender line to run small group workshops with year 7 boys. Boys are put on the spot to talk about whether it's OK to rate a girl's looks, whether it is OK to tell a guy ''he's acting like a girl'' and whether acting aggressively makes people respect you more. Of course, many of them mugged around and dodged the issue but both girls and boys thought something was achieved.
Lauren Breen, 16, remembers the bus stop as an ordeal. ''When I was younger I would kind of dread going down there and think 'I don't want to do this'. But, to be honest, every school has a bus stop or somewhere where this is happening,'' she said.
Lauren and Kate O'Reilly, 17, never saw it as sexual harassment and believe boys are often intimidated by girls. ''If I tell them to move, they move,'' Kate said. ''When there's a lot of boys and maybe one or two younger girls they tend to pick on them on the bus. It's not all the boys but some boys in particular just don't know how to act on a bus … Being at a boys' school a lot of them think it's all right to tease people as a joke and to stereotype people.''
Kate thinks boys know how to act but that dealing with the adrenalin produced among their friends can make it harder to do the right thing. Dean Camm, 13, said White Ribbon Day was needed ''because men disrespect women'' - not that he's seen it except on television or in news reports. ''I don't want to be a part of that,'' he said… smh.com.au 26/11/11 Read more
A third of distressed high school students take their troubles to no one
More than one third of NSW high school students who are experiencing psychological distress may be doing so in silence, according to a new collection of mental health statistics. The report also shows that very few turn to telephone helplines or the internet in times of sadness or distress… kids.nsw.gov.au 18/11/11 Read more
School, body image main worries for young
MORE young Australians are worried about school and study than ever before and are struggling to cope with life's stresses, according to a major annual survey of youth. Young women registered their highest concern about body image since the question was first asked in 2006, calling into question the effectiveness of recent government campaigns. Mission Australia's 10th National Survey of Young Australians surveyed almost 46,000 young people (mostly aged 11 to 19).
When asked to rank their personal concerns from 15 issues, school/study problems was ranked most frequently in the top three by 37% of respondents followed by coping with stress at 35%. Concern about school has increased by 20% since the 2009 survey and coping with stress has also jumped significantly. While body image was the third ranked issue overall, it was the top concern for girls. Mission Australia's spokeswoman, Eleri Morgan-Thomas, said the rise in concern about body image ''tells us that well-meaning efforts to combat the problem by governments and others have failed to make an impact and need to be reconsidered.''
The global financial turmoil and economic uncertainty may be factors behind the increased concerns over study, with respondents as young as 13 worrying about their job prospects, Ms Morgan-Thomas said. ''Young people feel so much more pressure to succeed at school. They know life's not going to be handed to them on a platter,'' she said.
Issues such as suicide, sexuality and self-harm are lesser concerns than in 2008. Drugs dropped from third to ninth place after family conflict, bullying and emotional abuse, personal safety, depression and the environment.
A worrying development was that one in five young people felt they could not talk to anyone about their major concern in life, the report showed. But more optimistically, two-thirds felt positive about the future, and only 9 per cent were negative…
- smh.com.au 30/11/11 Read more
- Download report
Graffiti bid 'dodges bullet'
RESIDENTS fighting to keep a legal graffiti space at the Casula Powerhouse say they've "dodged a bullet" for the moment. On Monday night Liverpool councillors decided to continue to support legal graffiti on the tanks at the powerhouse and place a three year draft Graffiti Management Strategy on public exhibition for 28 days for the public to make submissions.
Councillor Gary Lucas, who has been keen to see the tanks removed, also supported the resolution. He said council should hold off on removing the tanks until a suitable alternative location for users is found to create murals.
However, in the meeting, Cr Lucas spoke about his current concerns with artists putting graffiti on areas beyond the tanks. "They come, they spray and they just leave their cans all over the place," he said. "It's sickening to see the graffiti on either side of the train all the way down."
Councillor Nadia Napoletano recommended council continue to support the Legal Art Walls Program. "I am no art critic but it is an arts centre and that is a different form of art," she said.
Concerned youth and youth workers took part in a silent protest walk from the Tedd Noffs Foundation Street University in Speed Street, Liverpool, to the council chambers in George Street, Liverpool before the council meeting. Leading the walk were Matt Noffs, the founder of the Street University, Matt Peet, a Street University worker and Peter Noble, a local soldier in the Australian army. Mr Noffs also said that if options for young people are removed, they turn to other options such as vandalism.
"What we're talking about is decreasing crime in that area and legal graffiti walls are a way to decrease crime," he said.
Council will now invite Parramatta deputy mayor Michael McDermott and a Keep Australia Beautiful representative to make a presentation about graffiti walls. liverpoolchampion.com.au 23/11/11
Glenmore Park teen's debut album due early 2012
SHE is only 16 but Glenmore Park’s Natasha Duarte is well on her way to becoming a superstar. The singer-songwriter has had a passion for music since early childhood. She already has a recording contract under her belt with her debut pop/rock solo album due for release early next year. Winning the JB HI-FI Kool Skools Competition in 2008 helped her secure a deal with Empire Records. Natasha said she was influenced by artists like Katy Perry, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin… http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au 24/11/11 Read more
All washed up at 16, aspiring models told
FOR most 16-year-old girls, life is only just beginning. But if you want to make it as a fashion model it's already over, a new modelling agency said yesterday. ''I know people may think 13 is very young but that's what the international brands are looking for in Europe,'' said the head booker at GEAR Model Management, Naomi Fitzgerald de Grave. ''Models are too old at 16 now.'' But members of the Australian industry said 13 was too young to appear in international advertising campaigns or on the runway. ''International clients do not book 'children' for their campaigns and they should be closed down for trying to push that message,'' said Chic Management director Kathy Ward. ''We would never send a 13-year-old girl over to New York or Paris to walk in the shows.'' … smh.com.au 16/11/11 Read more
Young Social Pioneer named QLD's Young Australian of the Year
Chris Raine has been awarded the prestigious title of Queensland's Young Australian of the Year. Chris is the founder and CEO of Hello Sunday Morning, a movement dedicated to creating a better drinking culture in Australia. Chris' idea to take a break from drinking (and hangovers) for a few weeks has grown into a successful international online platform. Since 2010, more than 2,400 people have taken a 3-, 6- or 12-month journey of sobriety and blogged about their experiences.
Chris is delighted for his work to be recognised with such a major prize. "Winning this award is a great acknowledgment to support I have received this year, from organisations like FYA who have helped me along with my vision to help thousands of others in changing the drinking culture of this country," he said. "Hello Sunday Morning is having a real impact in people's lives and the lives of those around them. To have come to a place where [Hello Sunday Morning] is a real movement that is creating some really meaningful change in peoples' lives in under three years, is incredible."
Hello Sunday Morning is looking for at least 10,000 people to go 12 weeks without drinking in 2012. Are you one of them? 30/11/11 www.fya.org.au
How Young People are Faring 2011
The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is proud to announce the launch of How Young People are Faring (HYPAF) 2011 – the latest report into the employment and education situation of young Australians. The report shows two significant long-term trends:
- the stability of working life for young people has steadily decreased
- Australia’s economic prosperity is consistently not being passed on to many young people.
Key HYPAF 2011 findings:
- more than one quarter of all long-term unemployed Australians are now aged 15 to 24
- since 2008, the percentage of young Australians without a job for a year or longer has almost doubled
- despite Australia’s relative economic buoyancy, teenagers in Australia have higher rates of long-term unemployment than in many other OECD countries.
“Young people are the first to be disadvantaged by an economic downturn, and among the last to recover,” Dr Lucas Walsh, FYA’s Director of Research and Evaluation, said. Jan Owen, FYA’s CEO, said, “We must take action to ensure that Australia’s prosperity is passed on to our young people. They deserve stable employment and access to a prosperous future.” … Read more
NSW Young Australian of the Year 2012 - Jennifer Star
Jennifer Star’s dream to make a difference in the world is well under way. An outstanding athlete, with a brilliant academic record, Jennifer was named one of Australia’s 100 Brightest Young Minds in 2007. Several years ago she went to India as a World Vision Youth Ambassador and teacher. There were no classrooms and Jennifer found herself sitting under a tree with 48 children and no resources. Then and there she resolved to return to India to improve the plight of some of the world’s most impoverished people. At just 21 she started Tara.Ed, an innovative non-government organisation promoting sustainable quality education in rural India by training teachers. It works as a partner organisation, with both Indian and Australian schools and teachers working together. Since 2007, Tara.Ed has reached out to 86 teachers and 1,340 school children. Her aim is to influence the prospects of 20,000 children, 200 teachers and 20 schools across two continents by 2020. Jennifer knows what it means to set her sights high. As a graduate from Macquarie University with first class Honours and an elite sportswoman in judo, representing Australia internationally, she is accustomed to applying hard work to her considerable talents. Through Tara.Ed, Jennifer’s determination is certainly paying off for thousands of Indian children.
Other NSW finalists:
Krystal Barter established an online community called Pink Hope under the auspice of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, to support, connect and empower women like herself – at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. In the past two years, she has mentored and supported hundreds of high risk young women around the country…
Andrew Batt-Rawden - composer and mentor: While busy with his own musical compositions, Andrew is utterly dedicated to encouraging and mentoring up-and-coming composers. His innovative not-for-profit company, Chronology Arts, set up in 2007 is one of a handful of companies in the world dedicated to supporting young, emerging composers…
Merindah Donnelly - Indigenous campaigner: From the tiny town of Tingha on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, Merindah moved on to the dance stage of Sydney and is now the Pacific representative of the United Nations Global Indigenous Youth Caucus… www.australianoftheyear.org.au
Small town ragamuffins now feted by the world
Daniel Connors used to be known in Toomelah, an Aboriginal settlement on the NSW-Queensland border, as the boy who drowned. His father, Michael, believes he was unconscious for 45 minutes in the local river before being discovered and resuscitated. Within days, he was back to normal, except that he no longer stuttered.
Now Daniel, a livewire 11-year-old, is best known as the star of Toomelah, a confronting and moving film shot in the former mission by Ivan Sen, an indigenous writer-director whose mother grew up there. The often comic drama centres on a sensitive boy drawn towards the gangster lifestyle of the local drug dealer. It's a fictional story but like the real life Daniel the film's Daniel has been suspended from school and lives in a community dealing with substance abuse, unemployment and stolen generation grief… smh.com.au 12/11/11 Read more
Festival to embrace youth without losing sight of what it does well
ATTRACTING a younger, digital-savvy audience will be among the aims of the Sydney Writers' Festival next year. The Sydney Writers' Festival is the third-largest literary festival in the world, attracting more than 80,000 visitors, with more than 300 guest authors from Australia and overseas. To attract more young people it would use more out-of-season events to link them with their favourite authors. ''Young people and adolescents like storytelling and enjoy their own authors. There is a set of popular authors that appeal to adolescents and we want to create more opportunities to connect.'' smh.com.au 9/11/11 Read more
Poor me! How I stuffed up by getting into debt so you don’t have to
I really wish I hadn’t got into debt. And I’m not the only one…
- I’m 20 – and I’m going to be broke for the next seven years while I pay off everything I owe.
- Joanna is repaying $27,000 in debts and still owes $15,000 on her car.
- Laura became insolvent at 23 owing $30,000.
- One year, Luke gambled away most of the $120,000 he worked hard to earn.
We all stuffed up. And we’d all like other young people to learn from our mistakes instead of making their own. This book includes all the things we really wish we’d known before things got out of control. And, for anyone who has already made mistakes, there’s some help with getting back on track. www.doministuart.com
Lay foundations early to turn girls into tradies
GIVE a girl a power drill and she will use it wisely. If she's under the age of 12, it may even lead to a career, says Fiona Shewring, a researcher, TAFE lecturer and tradeswoman. Fathers must start sharing their spanners, screwdrivers and power tools with their daughters if more young women are to enter the trades, Ms Shewring says. On average, only 1.54 per cent of those working in some sectors of the construction industry are women. Plumbers, gas fitters, roof tilers, glaziers, floor finishers, joiners and stonemasons are among the trades most in demand…
But Ms Shewring says these figures could be lifted significantly if do-it-yourself dads encouraged their primary-school-age daughters to tinker in the shed the same way their sons are usually encouraged. By high school, it's too late, she says. ''Girls are brought up not to think they can do these things and by the time they're in high school they are already getting funnelled into a smaller [career choice] base. Even if they've enjoyed metalwork or woodwork at school, it doesn't occur to them to think of [those skills as leading to] a career.'' … smh.com.au 9/11/11 Read more
Flipping tradition on its head
SALMAN KHAN is still getting used to being known as the man who flipped the classroom. Seven years ago, the then-Boston hedge fund analyst began to tutor his younger cousin in New Orleans remotely. Her maths marks improved, so Khan uploaded short videos to YouTube, where other students stumbled onto his lessons.
More than 3000 videos later, the Khan Academy is on the way to hitting 100 million views and has the backing of Bill Gates and Google and, increasingly, the attention of professional educators. In the early days of his venture, Khan received emails from teachers saying they used his videos to ''flip'' their lessons. They would assign Khan's maths and science lectures as homework and conduct exercises and drills - traditional homework activities - the next day at school. Students could pause and repeat the videos at will, then consolidate their knowledge in the classroom. When Khan mentioned this technique in his TED talk in March, the idea took off around the world… smh.com.au 14/11/11 Read more
Fair Calls For All
The Fair Calls For All campaign aims to have calls to 1800, 1300 and 13 numbers charged at a fair price from all phones. Getting in touch with Centrelink, your bank or a legal, financial or other charity helpline shouldn’t cost a lot. But right now it can cost you up to $1.78 per minute to call 1800 ‘freecall’ and 13/1300 ‘local rate’ numbers from your mobile phone. If you called from a landline, these calls would be free or fixed at 30 cents.
50% of young people who live in a shared household or boarding situation only have a mobile phone and have no choice but to pay for a free or local-rate call.
After a year of community calls for action, the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) is proposing to regulate so that 1800 numbers will be free and 13/1300 numbers will cost about 30 cents to call from a mobile phone.
This is good news but there’s still work to do. We know that parts of the telco industry are strongly resisting these reforms. It is important to explain why these changes will benefit Australian consumers, charities and businesses. Tell the ACMA that you want Fair Calls For All at http://faircalls.good.do/action
http://faircalls.good.do/action/pages/what-is-fair-calls-for-all/
Get a licence to call, students told
Queensland students will have to get a ‘‘licence’’ to take mobile phones to school if a state government-commissioned report on cyber-bullying is accepted. The idea is among a dozen recommendations by anti-bullying expert Dr Michael Carr-Gregg and handed to the Queensland Schools Alliance Against Violence for consideration. The report looks at the appropriate use of mobile phones in schools and cyberbullying. Dr Carr-Gregg suggests Queensland schools introduce a mandatory mobile phone licence system. AAP 22/10/11
HSC opens minds to new thinking
TRACKING down bush tucker and listening to Dreamtime stories might not sound like hard work but for 418 students across NSW, Aboriginal studies at HSC level has turned out to be one of their most challenging subjects.
''After watching Our Generation [a documentary about the Northern Territory intervention] our class were really heated and just basically wanted to get on a bus and go to Canberra to let them know what was happening,'' said Emma Dinsey, 17, a Tweed River High student who sat her Aboriginal studies exam yesterday. ''I didn't really know anything before but my mum's side of the family is Aboriginal so I've been learning about myself; it's Australia's story.''
Aboriginal studies has been tested at HSC level for nearly 20 years but according to Board of Studies statistics it remains one of the least popular subjects. As of May, 418 students were enrolled for HSC level Aboriginal studies, 128 of whom identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander… smh.com.au 22/10/11 Read more
eheadspace
eheadspace is a confidential, free, anonymous, secure space where you can chat, email or speak with qualified youth mental health professionals if you are 12 to 25 years and:
- want to chat about what's going on in your life
- need advice
- are worried about your mental health or feeling depressed or anxious
- are feeling isolated or alone
- are worried about your drug and/or alcohol use
- are worried about a friend or a family member
- online support is available seven days a week from 1pm to 1am (AEST), you can email at anytime or you can call eheadspace from 10pm to 1pm (AEST).
www.eheadspace.org.au or 1800 650 890
Rural learner drivers show city types all about wheel power
LEARNER drivers in many Sydney suburbs are failing their driving tests at twice the rate of their regional counterparts... All of the testing centres with the 20 highest pass rates are in rural or regional areas, with Narooma, Bega and Crookwell passing more than 85 per cent of drivers. Most of the centres with the lowest rates were in Sydney, with Maroubra in Sydney's east only passing 43 per cent of learner drivers. Others with well-below average pass rates include Marrickville, Silverwater, Bondi Junction, and Lidcombe. The state government and RTA have pledged to investigate the disparity outlined in the report, which also examined the effects of the changes to the learner and provisional driving rules over the last ten years.
The report found stricter rules and longer periods spent on P-plates have helped reduce fatal accidents among young drivers by 51 per cent in the last ten years, but said more needed to be done to improve safety. The fall in accidents had not been uniform, with fatal crash rates falling 68 per cent among city drivers aged under 26 in 2009-2010 compared to 1999-2000, but only 25 per cent in country areas… smh.com.au 20/10/11 Read more
P-platers dismayed at planned driver curbs
Staying out until the sun comes up, drink-driving, not going to work and hooning with friends. It's the type of behaviour parents fear from their teenagers, and young Sydneysiders say it might be the unintended result of proposed restrictions on new drivers, which are actually designed to keep them safer.
The NSW Auditor-General has released a report on improving safety for young drivers, including considering banning P1-platers from driving between 11pm and 5am on Friday and Saturday nights and restricting them to one peer passenger at all times. Read more about his recommendations Josel Espinosa, 18, an L-plater from western Sydney, said young people relied on their friends with P-plates for car pooling so they had the freedom to go out safely on the weekends. "It's really difficult to do a lot of the things we do as young people if we have these restrictions. We'd have to call our parents or take public transport, which is a another kettle of fish because it's not seen as a safe thing for us to do. [Drivers] would probably be encouraged to stay out later than they usually would, stay out until five in the morning, so they could actually drive themselves home as opposed to risking it on public transport." Melissa Wolfshoerndl, a 17-year-old L-plater from Richmond, said the proposed changes would make it harder for her to work late hours at her part-time job at a fast-food restaurant. "It means either parents would have to pick us up or you couldn't work at these times because there's no public transport,"
Ms Wolfshoerndl said. A limit on passengers would stop groups of teenagers from arranging lifts with designated drivers, she said. "It would cause the risk of people getting behind the wheel after drinking. They wouldn't have transport, and the restriction of not being able to [drive] people at all in your own car, it's an inconvenience and just a safety risk." … smh.com.au 20/10/11 Read more
Street art festival heads to Cockatoo Island
150 individual artists or collectives will take part in the inaugural Outpost Project at Cockatoo Island over five summer weeks, billed as the largest street art extravaganza held in Australia. Between them they embrace all the many different styles grouped under the umbrella term, street art. Such as? Stencilling (prints created by painting over cut-out designs), paste-ups (basically, posters), stickers (small scale artworks reproduced in large numbers), street sculpture (made out of discarded objects) and aerosol art, the best-known form associated in the public mind with graffiti.
About 11,000 mainly young spectators visited the island for the two hours of the recent freestyle motocross event and 160,000 attended last year's Biennale spread over three months. Bailey hopes Outpost will attract a similar broad demographic, particularly because the island will also play host to Skateboarding Australia's national championships, which come to an end on the final weekend… smh.com.au 10/10/11
- Read more
- Outpost Project will run on Cockatoo Island from 4 November to 11 December. Details at www.outpost.cockatooisland.gov.au.
Curfew proposed for NSW P-platers
The NSW Auditor-General has proposed a curfew for P-plate drivers to help reduce deaths on the state's roads. Peter Achterstraat has prepared a report on improving road safety for young drivers. The number of fatal crashes involving young drivers has halved in the past decade, but they are still more likely to be involved in serious crashes than older drivers. Young drivers are involved in one in four fatal crashes, even though they make up only 16 per cent of licensed drivers.
Mr Achterstraat has made a number of recommendations, including the introduction of a curfew for provisional 1 (P1) drivers on Friday and Saturday nights. "There's a small minority of rev heads and hoon boys who seem to think they are the only people on the road," Mr Achterstraat said. "Thirty per cent of fatal crashes of young people occur on Friday and Saturday nights." The auditor-general has also suggested psychological testing for young drivers who repeatedly flout the road rules. "You wouldn't let a person with a bad attitude use a chainsaw, so we can't let a person with a bad attitude drive a car," he said. abc.net.au 20/10/11 Read more. See also:
Girl, 16, gets court to halt marriage
A court has placed a 16-year-old girl on the airport watch list to prevent an arranged marriage taking place in Lebanon. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, applied to the Federal Magistrates Court for an order to restrain her parents from taking her out of Australia to marry a man she had met only once. The girl, given the pseudonym Ms Madley by the court, approached Legal Aid after her parents organised the wedding despite her telling them that she did not want to go to Lebanon and did not want to marry the man… smh.com.au 30/9/11 Read more
Winning support for the carbon tax
Climate groups have welcomed the carbon tax but polls still show significant opposition to the plan. Ellen Sandell from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition was in Canberra for the historic carbon tax vote. She outlines the campaign to strengthen community support for action on climate change… abc.net.au/rn/lifematters 12/10/11 Listen or download audio
Teens start sexting as a way to fit in, says study
Teenagers are feeling pressure to send sexual images of themselves and others by mobile phone in what is becoming a potentially pervasive practice of ''sexting'', according to government-funded research. Young people are experiencing pressure not only from each other but also from the "insidious" influence of a sexualised media culture that pressured them to be involved in sexting in order to fit in, Melbourne University researcher Shelley Walker says. Young men were made to feel their masculinity was in question if they were not into sexting. Women also felt pressure to participate when they saw sexted images of their friends… smh.com.au 30/9/11 Read more
Bike bus idea wins award
Amnah and Arain, in Year 8 at Al Siraat College in Victoria had the idea to set up a “bike bus” for their school.
This is similar in concept to a “walking bus” and thus provides are safe way for students to ride to school. Amnah and Arain want to promote healthy and active lifestyles at their school. As many of their classmates come from large, inactive families, they hope that a system like a “bike bus” that encourages students to ride to school will lead to more students becoming involved in such activities. As their school is only two years old and does not have any other sporting facilities, Amnah and Arain believe that bike riding is a great, inexpensive way of getting some exercise before school starts which will, hopefully, also mean more attentive and relaxed students in class as well. The “bike bus” will also ensure that the cycling is done in a safe and fun manner.
There will be many benefits to the students and school, according to Amnah and Arain, including a more physically active and healthy student-body, a greater understanding of road rules for the students, and far less car-traffic congestion at drop-off and pick-up times.
Congratulations to Amnah and Arain, and to the other winners of the new NAB Schools First Student Award - which gives a voice to students on how they think things should be running between their school and their local community. The five best ideas from across Australia receive an awesome prize pack for themselves and their schools including $2,000 to help turn their idea into a reality, support from the NAB Schools First team and travel to Melbourne for a workshop with other winners. Successful applicants will also be linked up with leaders in Australian business, will be applauded within their own school, and have credentials that will look great on a CV. www.schoolsfirst.edu.au
ILY (I Love You): One Teen Girl's Guide to a Bully-Proof Adolescence
OK - so picture this. You're at home in front of the mirror. Telling yourself exactly what you think of yourself. Too fat. Too pasty. Too little. And that's just your little finger you're looking at. You don't even think of paying yourself one single compliment. Are you your own worst enemy?
Enter the bully - she can pick you in a moment. She knows she can take a shot at you and you'll fall down in a heap, and you know why? Because she's actually on your side, she's picking you to pieces in the same way that you treat yourself.
There's really only one lasting solution to the bullying nightmare. You've gotta learn to ILY yourself and understand that it's not your problem. ILY is short for I LOVE YOU, and this self-help book for teen girls teaches the importance of loving yourself and others so you can be happy in the teenage years.
14 year-old Australian teenager Julia Weber knows only too well what it's like to be bullied, both in person and via cyberspace. She has become an anti-bullying campaigner and now fills the pages of ILY with heart-warming, witty and practical advice for teen girls about everything from bullying and low self esteem to gratitude and forgiveness. Julia uses affirmations from the world's most famous self help author Louise L Hay, writing teen translations of her words which are fresh and relevant. She speaks at conferences, participates in research and is part of a youth advisory panel which advises on counselling services for young people. Book: www.booktopia.com.au, Facebook: "ILY by Julia Weber"
Talented students given chance of a better life
They were teenage girls on people smuggler boats out of Indonesian ports who came ashore to a bitter debate over who should be allowed to enter the country. Zainab Kaabi, then 17, had been to high school in Iraq. Nahid Karimi, then 13, had been home schooled by her mother in Afghanistan. A decade later, Ms Kaabi is completing her second degree - pharmacy. Ms Karimi is about to finish final-year medical science. In between, they spent months at detention centres in Woomera and Port Hedland before settling in Sydney with their parents and siblings and learning English at Holroyd High School.
The principal, Dorothy Hoddinott, watched Ms Kaabi blossom at school but was poleaxed in 2002 when she learned that a social security payment given to people on protection visas stopped at 18 and her star student had to leave before completing her HSC… Firstly, Ms Hoddinott dug into her own pockets. Then she went after her friends' pockets, before establishing the Friends of Zainab Scholarship which not only helped the young refugee complete Year 12 but paid fees and costs associated with a degree in medical sciences… smh.com.au 22/9/11 Read more
Changes to Youth Allowance
AYAC congratulates the Australian Government for its recent announcement of their $265 million Youth Allowance bill, that allows more students from regional communities to get financial assistance. We commend the change that will remove the discrimination faced by students living in inner regional areas who needed the independent rate of youth allowance for their studies just as much as those from outer regional and remote areas. AYAC is also pleased to see an increase in relocation scholarships for students needing to move away from home to access tertiary education. Many of the changes in the new bill were called for in AYAC’s submission to the government’s Review of Student Income Reforms in April this year.
However, AYAC is still calling on the government to reform the Student Income Support system which at present sees young people on allowances receiving only $34 a day compared to pensioners who receive $53 a day. AYAC wants the government to increase allowance rates to reflect real living costs and to be on par with pensions. We believe in a system that treats young people with similar needs and living costs in a fair and consistent way, and ensures that all Australians, regardless of age and circumstance, have the financial capacity to attain a decent basic standard of living according to contemporary community norms. – Australian Youth Affairs Coalition Newsletter 29/9/11 www.ayac.org.au
Take the love test: chlamydia epidemic alert as new cases soar
WHEN romance blooms, young couples should seek a chlamydia test, given an epidemic of the insidious disease among young Australians, says an expert in sexual infections, Associate Professor David Wilson. New cases of the easily-transmissible infection, which can leave women infertile years later, rose by 17% last year to 74,000, a "very concerning" trend Professor Wilson says. He advises couples beginning an intimate relationship to discuss their sexual history and to have a doctor prescribe a chlamydia test. "There is evidence we are facing an epidemic of chlamydia among young people." … smh.com.au 27/9/11 Read more
And a river runs through it: old title with new inspiration
A man who likes solitude but inherits a talking cat, a garden gnome abandoned on a beach and 1000 words written from the point of a newborn child. Young minds ran wild for the 26th Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year competition.
Merici College Canberra student Rachel Sheville described her sci-fi romance, one of 12 finalists, as the love child of a Fleetwood Mac song and a Neil Gaiman novel. Lauren Pearce's entry was inspired by her frustrations in English class at her school, Macquarie Fields High. ''It's a distopian story on a world where creative thought is against the rules,'' she said. ''I was very frustrated that day I wrote it. There is not a lot of free thought sometimes.''
Ashley Reynolds, a year 12 student at Coonabarabran High School in western NSW, was named the winner yesterday for her short story The River That Wasn't Ours. She wrote about the Castlereagh River, which runs through her town, a place where she would play every day during her summer holidays but a place that also claimed a boy's life when the waters rose and flooded the town. ''The change in the river changed our perceptions of it,'' she said. ''In my story, the river became a character itself because we thought it was one thing but it was actually another.'' smh.com.au 10/9/11 Read more
Could do better, teacher: minister backs plan for student feedback
NSW students could be invited to turn the school report on its head and give their teachers feedback on their classroom performance to improve teaching and learning. The controversial idea has been endorsed by the Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli. ''Already there are schools in which student feedback is utilised as a component of teacher improvement, and universities and TAFE have used student feedback for many years," the minister told the Herald. "Given the evidence available this is an option that schools should consider as one of a range of measures to provide feedback to teachers to improve teaching and learning."
Many supporters can already be found for the use of student surveys, including the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, which was set up by Australian governments to promote teaching excellence. ''Kids have got a pretty good sense of what good teachers do, in how good teachers relate to them,'' said its CEO, Margery Evans. ''Also, the information suggests students are pretty good at making effective judgments. They want their teachers to be able to control the class, they want their teachers to give them fairly rigorous testing and they want their teachers to be fair.''
Geoff Newcombe, of the Association of Independent Schools in NSW, said that a number of non-government schools already invite children to contribute to surveys of teachers. ''It's always a tough start,'' he said. ''There's always the fear that kids are going to get together and pick on a teacher. From what I hear that hasn't happened.'' … smh.com.au 29/8/11 Read more
There's no shame in teenage sextual relations
Two teenage "sexters" were recently reported to have been charged and prosecuted with child pornography offences and placed on the sex offender register in Victoria, branding them criminals and ruining their career prospects.
Under Commonwealth law, teenagers under age 18 who consensually photograph and send images of their own bodies in nude, sexualised poses can be charged with production and distribution of child pornography. Anyone to whom they send those images can be charged with possession of child pornography, even if the sender of the image intended for them to have it.
In NSW the age of consent is 16. This means a 17-year-old girl can legally have sex with her boyfriend (or girlfriend) but if she films it, or if she photographs her own breasts and sends that image to her partner, she can be prosecuted under Commonwealth law. Understandably teenagers find it difficult to comprehend this legal inconsistency and there are some serious questions to be raised… smh.com.au 10/9/11 Read more
Manly Youth Council graff project
Check out this stop-motion film of a piece one of the guys painted at the Manly skate bowl during a Manly Youth Council graff project recently: www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1903006491423&oid=113518768688966&comments
Fairfield wins Youth Week Award!
Fairfield City Council has once again won the award for best local Youth Week program, which involved:
- Bring It On! Festival: Over 10,000 people and over 100 trained volunteers who braved the wet weather. Bring it On! featured the Fusion All Ages Dance party (Loud! Tribe), the National Beatbox Championship, four stages of live entertainment and a host of other attractions.
- Fairfield Youth Space hosted by services from the Fairfield Youth Workers Network, led by Centrelink: entertainment, consultation and workshops.
- ShortCuts Short Film Festival hosted by Powerhouse Youth Theatre with a capacity crowd of 120 people.
- Own It!” Dance Party for young people with a disability, hosted by Community First Step, with a capacity crowd of 114 people.
- “The Event” hosted by Holroyd Youth Services, involving 30 young people who frequent the Wetherill Park Skate Park.
Students buckling under the pressure, Hockey warns
Joe Hockey has rallied to the defence of young Australians, saying the modern-day pressures of high school education are contributing to rising depression and suicide rates and that their lives in general are becoming over-taxed and over-regulated. The shadow treasurer said the pressures exerted by older generations today went beyond the centuries-old ''deploring the changes in manners and customs of the young''. ''We regulate or tax in their name every part of their being from the drinks they consume to the cars they drive,'' he said. ''It is older generations that have imposed draconian expectations on a young person to spend 120 hours at the car wheel in the presence of a licensed driver … to get their provisional licence. Some rules are necessary but we cannot go too far. ''As a general rule we should be mindful that young people need the chance to explore, experiment and engage in calculated risk-taking behaviour … to grow into balanced adults and pursue the future they aspire to.'' Mr Hockey was especially critical of the education system, saying its focus on academic achievement and continuous performance assessment was too narrow, stifled creativity and increased pressure on the young… 28/7/11 Read more
Winner speaks from experience
Fanulla Sapountzis can attest it takes more than just the gift of the gab and a punchy metaphor to be crowned the state's public speaking student champion. The year 12 student from Prairiewood High School beat five talented speakers to win the Plain English Speaking Award by underpinning her speeches with personal experiences and conviction. The six finalists dazzled the judges as they lampooned radio talkback radio announcers for ''ridiculous ranting'', championed gay marriage rights and said Rupert Murdoch's media empire was ''reminiscent of a Big Brother society''. Each speaker delivered a prepared speech and then was given three minutes to deliver an impromptu speech on ''Beating the big guys''. Fanulla's first speech pivoted on the metaphor of the Australian verandah to bolster her argument for the better treatment of asylum seekers. She interlaced this with her experience as a seven-year-old migrant from Greece who could not speak a word of English… 30/7/11 Read more
NSW axes outdated School Certificate
The NSW government hopes to increase high school retention rates by abolishing the School Certificate. Education Minister Adrian Piccoli says some students have been treating the Year 10 milestone as an "exit point", with 18 per cent of them leaving high school in 2008 at that point without going on to complete the Higher School Certificate in Year 12. "We want to encourage every student at our schools in NSW, government and non-government, to continue all the way through to the HSC." He announced that this year's School Certificate examinations would be the last, with Year 10 students next year being given an alternative assessment. The NSW Board of Studies will conduct rigorous consultation with education stakeholders to develop a new credential that will be applicable from 2012. Mr Piccoli said the new credential could recognise achievements such as volunteer work or a first aid certificate. The opposition has welcomed the announcement, and urged the Board of Studies to include young people in the consultation process… smh.com.au 4/8/11 Read more
Hello Sunday Morning program wins national award
This innovative alcohol management program has won the ‘Excellence in Services for Young People' at the National Drug & Alcohol Awards for 2011. Hello Sunday Morning is a community of bloggers aged from 18 to 30, from all over Australia who have committed to an extended period of sobriety (three, six or 12 months) in order to give them the space and motivation to honestly explore their relationship with alcohol. Founder Chris Raine said: ‘Recognition such as this, really helps validate the work we're aiming to achieve through the program. By sharing their story, each person’s stand is a unique and essential contribution to a better drinking culture’. [source www.acys.info] http://hellosundaymorning.com.au/
Shame To Game!!!
The Colli Crew began writing songs in rap form as a way to speak up about their vision for reconciliation in the remote community of Collarenebri in Walgett Shire, North West NSW. They have moved from “shame” to “game” and are now the talk of the town (and beyond). The achievements and recognition received have “blown the young crew and their community” away and seen them perform all around NSW and QLD. They have now performed at school spectaculars in both states, NAIDOC ball in Sydney, ARIA Awards at the Sydney Opera House, supported Indigenous performers acts like Troy Cassar Daley, Sean Choolburra and the Stiff Gins - just to name a few. Near all the crew are active Walgett Shire Youth Council members and regularly rap it up for the local communities within their shire at the local level. "From little things... big things grow (if given an opportunity)" said George McCormick, Youth Development Officer at Walgett Shire. "Amazing stuff considering the crew are aged 11-16 years old. They are making a difference to their community and in that we applaud and will continue to support them" said George. Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTWj8tcr6kg 14/7/11
Young Worker Toolkit
The Young Worker Toolkit helps you find information about your responsibilities and where you stand at work.
- Starting your job
- Pay & conditions
- Tax, Super & HELP
- Safety & accidents
- Problems at work
- Quitting & losing your job
- Getting help
Go to http://youngworkertoolkit.youth.gov.au - you could win a Smartphone!
Fair Work gives tick to shorter shifts after school
SMALL business has had a victory over Labor's workplace reforms by gaining the right to employ teenagers for shifts as short as 1½ hours. A blanket three-hour minimum period of employment in the retail sector was introduced nationally last year, prompting small retailers such as newsagents and corner stores to predict the end of casual school student labour. The Australian Retailers Association said at the time that a survey of members found that 38% of respondents said they would stop employing school students as a result of the limitations imposed by the three-hour minimum. Following several unsuccessful attempts to have the rule overturned, the industry finally won in the national workplace relations tribunal, Fair Work Australia... smh.com.au 21/6/11. Read more
National Youth Talent Competition rewards creative leaders of the future
Minister for Youth Peter Garrett has announced the 25 winners of the National Talent Competition (NTC) and Win Free Stuff competition, held as part of National Youth Week. The NTC challenged young Australians to display their skills in the areas of writing, short film, photography, music and design for their chance to win a share in almost $50 000 worth of prizes. Mr Garrett said the NTC provided young people with an opportunity to get a head-start in competitive and highly popular industries, and received more than 2000 entries this year.
“It gives talented young Australians a way to both nurture and showcase their talents and a chance to have their work noticed by an expert in the field,” he said. “The quality and variety of the winners this year has been really terrific, with entries covering a range of topics including friendship, the dangers of drug use, and environmental issues.”
Winner of the senior category of DesignIT, 25-year-old, Amy Blue, said she hoped the competition will help kick-start her career. “I have been passionate about illustration and design for many years, so winning Australia’s largest youth talent competition is such a reward for all the hard work I have put into my work,” she said. To find out more and view the 2011 winners visit, www.youthweek.com.
Counting homeless young people for the 2011 Census
The next Census of Population & Housing is on 9 August 2011. The Census aims to count everyone in Australia on Census night, including people experiencing homelessness. It is important to count people who are homeless because Census data can be used when forming policy, allocating resources and providing services.
One of the most challenging groups of homeless people to count is young people without a usual address and staying with friends or relatives (aka 'couch surfers)'. These challenges exist for a number of reasons, including:
- The young person may not realise they are homeless, or they do not identify as homeless and so do not state this on the Census form
- The young person may be unsure how to state they are homeless on the Census form
- The young person and / or their host may fear they will get into trouble with their landlord or another official body if they are listed on the Census form
- The young person and/ or their host may not know that the ABS does not share personal information with anyone else, including Housing NSW and Centrelink and so do not list additional people in the household.
Consequently, you can play a crucial role in helping the ABS to meet these challenges by promoting these messages via your own networks so that young homeless people are informed about how to take part in the 2011 Census. It is important that young homeless people know not only what to state on the Census form, but that it is safe to do so as the ABS does not share personal information with any other 3rd party.
If you would like to know more about the count of people who are homeless for the 2011 Census, please contact Dougie Wells, National Homeless Operational Planner, Census Management Unit, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 02 9268 4242 or dougie.wells@abs.gov.au
More students claim Youth Allowance under new rules
… the number of students from inner-regional areas getting the allowance had increased 20% since the changes were introduced in April last year. Overall, the number of dependent students getting the full allowance increased by 15,000 or 36% ... smh.com.au 3/6/11 Read more
Teenager joins in class action over false arrests
IT'S not often that a magistrate apologises to a young person appearing before them. But that's what happened to Musa Konneh. ''The magistrate said: 'This boy is not meant to be here, why is he here?' The magistrate even said 'sorry' to me,'' the 19-year-old migrant from Sierra Leone recalled. In the 12 hours before he appeared before court Mr Konneh had been falsely arrested, handcuffed, strip searched and spent a night in the police cells. Two officers knocked on his door at 9.30pm on a Saturday night and arrested him, insisting he had breached his bail conditions by not reporting to police. He tried to explain they were wrong, but to no avail.
In fact, Mr Konneh was no longer on bail, and his case - for allegedly riding on the train without a ticket - had been dismissed in the Children's Court four days earlier. While the court had a record of the decision, the police computer system, which is meant to receive information from the courts system Justicelink, had not been updated. A class action was filed in the Supreme Court yesterday against the NSW government over this and other detentions. Mr Konneh is the first young person to join it. smh.com.au 8/6/11 Read more
Mobile phones get better reception at school
MOBILE phones, the ubiquitous accompaniment of youth, have broken through the resistance of schools, gradually taking over the playground and preparing for a final assault on the classroom… smh.com.au 23/3/11 read full story
