Gove Youth Strategy

The overall objective of the Youth Forum will be to provide a safe youth friendly environment where young people, from across Gove Peninsula and associated homelands, can feel supported and enabled to participate in activities which will assist in developing their leadership and motivation levels. In addition the Forum will connect young people together in order to develop resilience and a sense of community through developing a better understanding of cultural difference. The Youth Forum is an opportunity for young people to explore cultural and personal growth in a youth friendly environment and an occasion where they can focus their energy and attention on ways they can contribute positively in their community. Attendance target number of young people for the event will be approximately 100, 12 - 18 years of age.

The format for the event will be workshop style with three to four workshops running side by side so young people have a choice on workshops to attend with short entertainment activities in between. Examples of the workshops will include, Lino Printing, Spear making, Women's health (Indigenous), Social Action workshop (looking at issues within their community and how they (the YP) can contribute to change) we have two local young people who have been trained as co facilitators for this particular workshop 1 Indigenous and 1 non Indigenous, Drumbeat (self esteem workshop), followed up with a concert by the local youth bands, and disco on the Thursday night.

Anglicare NT - East Arnhem will take the overall responsibility for the event. As with all activities undertaken by the Anglicare NT the Youth Service team preparation for the forum will be held in consultation with the organisations existing Youth Committee. The Youth Committee represents young people of the area and consist of 10 young people both Yolngu (local Indigenous) and non Indigenous. This group of young people will assist with all aspects of the event. This will include planning and facilitation of the forum, undertaking all tasks associated with the operation of the forum as well as making ongoing decisions throughout the event.

Furthermore, it is envisaged that this event will be a collaborative approach, involving all relevant organisations and agencies in the area. Request for involvement for service providers will include:- NT Police, Miwatj - Indigenous Services, East Arnhem Shire, Rritjingu Association, Gumatj Association, Darwin based Anglicare NT Youth Services, local schools, Inspire, Gove Astronomy Association, local Youth Network, Arafura Dance Association, Laynhapuy Homelands Association, Family and Children's Services, Northern Land Council and Rio Tinto Alcan.

Additionally the event will also rely on staff support and resources from across other Anglicare NT Youth Services Program. For example, a number of Anglicare NT Youth Services staff from Darwin will be seconded to East Arnhem to assist in supporting the delivery of the Youth Forum in the final period leading up to and including the Forum.

Anglicare NT is a multidisciplinary community service agency which provides a significant number of direct client services, and community capacity building programs across the NT; we have been providing community based services in East Arnhem for over 10 years. The main youth focused service was established in 2003, Connect East Arnhem, and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs. This is a program which provides support to young people 10-18 years of age, their families and communities, to prevent homelessness and strengthen community based responses to young peoples needs. The Youth Forum is one strategy for ensuring young people have an opportunity not only to engage within their community but also as a means of reducing isolation.

The Youth Forum is a strategy for not only assisting to address these issues with a particular target group and meeting program outcomes; the forum is a way of accessing a wider sector of the youth community. In turn addressing a number of community issues while building on young peoples strengths and providing an opportunity for sharing culture through developing greater understanding and knowledge of different cultural groups. Empowering young people to develop to their full potential and enhancing relationships between communities. Furthermore it will foster responsibility through participation and develop sustainable change in the lives of the young people and within their community.

Until this year the Youth Forum has been incorporated into the Garma Festival, held over three days with young people from all over Australia attending. Unfortunately, funding has not been secured for 2010 so we are unable to undertake this particular activity. Due to the significant evidence demonstrating the benefits of the Garma Miwatj Youth Forum for young people in the region Anglicare NT has decided to undertake a smaller event focusing on young people within the Gove Peninsula and associated homelands.

The Youth Forum format has proven to be an effective means of engaging young people in education, culture, meaningful peer and community relationships and developing leadership skills. There are no other similar events in the East Arnhem region and so it is particularly important that an event with such overwhelming value is supported to continue in providing opportunities for young people in such a remote disadvantaged region of Australia.

Anglicare NT has operated in East Arnhem since late 1998, with the youth service being established in Nhulunbuy in 2003. As part of Youth Services ongoing commitment to young people in the area a youth forum has been undertaken in the area since 2006. Through these past events a significant evidence base has been developed which demonstrates the beneficial nature of an event such as the Youth Forum in pulling young people together from within the area. It has proven to be an effective means of engaging young people in education, culture, meaningful peer and community relationships and developing leadership skills.
There is a particular need for the young people in the area to have access and opportunity to a youth specific event such as this, particularly given the disadvantaged nature of the area. These opportunities allow for young people from different backgrounds to experience and share aspects of Yolngu culture, language and law as well as opportunities to make new friends which in turn reduce isolation, develop leadership ability, and expand skills and voice ideas and concerns about their environment, their community and their future.

For this particular event our target number of young people is 100 over the two days. The overall governing body for the event will be the Anglicare NT support by the Youth Committee. The Anglicare NT Youth Services - Youth Committee is comprised of 10 young people from communities across the peninsula including Nhulunbuy, Ski Beach, Wallaby Beach and Yirrkala. The Youth Committee will be directly involved in all stages of the event including program design, setting up and co-facilitation of workshops.

An evaluation process will be an integrated part of the event design and will include:
Formation of a Forum Evaluation Team, Individual workshop evaluations for participants, over the two days young people from the Forum Evaluation Team will undertake interviews gathering informal feedback for further analysis,

There will be an overall event evaluation for, participants volunteers and facilitators. After the event parents of participants will have the opportunity to comment through a formal process.

Being the only full time youth specific service provider in the area, means that Anglicare NT Youth Services is required to deal with a myriad of ongoing issues facing young people and their families across this culturally and geographically diverse region, including alcohol and other drugs, sexual assault, suicide and family conflict. For this agency to be able to appropriately undertake its role effectively, it is essential to have positive relationships with all stakeholders within the community, including families, young people and other service providers, ensuring commitment and support in all the work we undertake.

This commitment has been reflected in the ongoing support for the annual Garma Miwatj Youth Forum over the last four years. Even though we have been unsuccessful in attracting the financial support required to undertake Garma Miwatj Youth Forum it has been decided it is too important to lose the momentum gained from the ongoing success delivery of the Garma Miwatj Youth Forum to both the young people and the general community. In remote regions it is particularly important to continue with momentum of such successful projects as the Youth Forum as so often short term pilot projects are delivered and then not followed through with and the community starts to lose patience. By September 2008, one month after last years Youth Forum, young people, parents and community agencies were already asking how they could be involved in the next Garma Youth Forum, signifying the overwhelming positive impact it has on this East Arnhem region, and why it must be continued on an ongoing basis in some form at least. This funding would allow for the continuation of the Youth Forum for 2010, giving Anglicare NT the opportunity to source an alternate ongoing funding source.

Project description: 
Anglicare runs a variety of projects and forums for youth in the Gove Peninsula each year. We need partners, supporters and facilitators to support our ongoing work.
Lead Organisation: 
Anglicare NT, Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala, Ski Beach, Galupa, Birritjimi Communities, Northern Territory.
Lead WWW: 

Funding Type:

Contact Name: 
Elenie Bromot
Contact Phone: 
0889873022
Contact Mobile: 
0400254516
Contact Fax: 
0889873011
Contact Email: 
ebromot@anglicare-nt.org.au
WWW: 
http://www.yoursite.org.au (N.B. must begin with http://)
Support Type: 
Volunteers, facilitators, Financial support is needed.
Current Partners: 
Currency Type: 

Funding Amount:

Subject(s):

Region: 
Northern Territory - East Arnhem Land