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 January 2012
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Looking for a previous edition? Check out the Archived e-News section.
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WHAT'S NEW AT CMY?
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Happy new year to all our subscribers
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2012 promises to be a pivotal year in the history of CMY. In the first half of this year we will be opening two new regional offices (more details below), embarking on a national pilot program and launching a new five year strategic plan.
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We look forward to keeping you involved and up to date with all that is happening in the multicultural youth sector throughout the year. If you have anything you would like to see featured in this newsletter over the course of the coming year please write to the ‘Editor’ at info@cmy.net.au
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CMY regional office in Gippsland
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CMY will open the first of two CMY regional centres funded by the Victorian Government, offering support to refugee and migrant young people living in the Gippsland region. The office will be based in Morwell and will be officially opened on the 18th of March 2012.
This initiative will provide support to disadvantaged young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds living in regional areas, to actively participate in their communities. CMY’s work will focus on providing group programs, projects and training for young people to help with education, employment and other issues they may face. It will also offer training and development opportunities to services and volunteers wanting to know how to work more effectively with young people from diverse backgrounds.
As the fourth largest rural region in Victoria with a population of over 75,000, the Latrobe Valley has the second highest proportion of overseas-born residents in regional Victoria. In the past few years a significant number of newcomers from South Sudan with refugee background have settled in the Gippsland region. A small but growing number of diverse young people and families are also moving to Wonthaggi, Sale, Bairnsdale and other communities within the region.
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Changing Trends - statewide forum report
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Settlement patterns are constantly in flux. They are responsive to changes in immigration policy, international factors and access to support. For effective service delivery it is essential that institutions and organisations working with refugee young people have an awareness of such patterns so that they are better able to tailor their services. The influential nature of these shifts and changes provided inspiration for CMY’s final statewide forum for 2011, “Changing Trends: Who are the young refugees settling in Victoria today?”.
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The conference, which was held on Thursday 29 November 2011, attracted over 90 participants from across the community and public sectors. The morning commenced with a series of presentations that focused on how organisations were responding to changing settlement patterns and issues which had emerged from developing trends.
Michael Abdilla, Community Liaison Officer for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship gave an overview of recent data relating to young humanitarian arrivals in Victoria. Of particular note:
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- In 2010-11, Afghanistan, Iraq and Burma were the three most highly represented places of birth for all young (12-25 years old) humanitarian arrivals in Victoria.
- In 2006-07 55.7% of arrivals through Australia’s offshore settlement program resided in Africa. This figure had declined to 29.2% in 2009-10.
- The top ten Local Government Areas for young humanitarian arrivals were: Greater Dandenong (1), Hume (2), Casey (3), Brimbank (4) and Maribyrnong (5).
- From 2006-07 to 2010-11 the percentage of young people who had been processed onshore has increased from 12.6% to 31.6%
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The impact that changing settlement patterns are having on service delivery was brought to life in Urgé Dinegde’s presentation. Urgé, a Case Manager for the Refugee Minor Program (RMP), discussed trends relating to unaccompanied minors (UAMs). The RMP has observed that there has been an increase in the number of young people born in Afghanistan who have been referred to the Program. Urgé reflected that this has resulted in the RMP needing to be more responsive to needs and issues relating to war related trauma.
As part of Kim van den Nouwelant’s presentation, attendees were informed of the rapid expansion of Australian Red Cross’ Community Detention Program. This expansion was highlighted in the figures presented by Kim which indicated an increase from 15 people living in community detention in Victoria at the end of 2010 to around 300 today.
The absence of a ‘carer arrangement’ in Victoria was discussed in Kim van den Nouwelant and Peter Jarrett’s presentations (Adult Multicultural Education Services). AMES and the Red Cross have observed that there has been an increase in the number of UAMs who have been released from community detention or from another detention facility without a nominated carer (an individual older than 21 with permanent residency). In the absence of a carer, these young people are required to resettle in a state where a carer will be automatically provided. AMES and the Red Cross have observed that rather than resettling, these young people would often return to Victoria in a matter of weeks and often enter dubious shared house arrangements.
Following the presentations, participants broke into small groups to discuss changing settlement patterns which they had identified in their localities and relay how their organisations had responded to them. Key themes addressed by the various groups included institutional barriers to settlement, education pathways and housing.
A full conference report will be published soon.
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- Evan Wallace, Sector Development Officer
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New theatre project looking for young participants
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CMY is doing a call out to young people to see if they would like to get involved in theatre and performing at Melbourne’s famous La Mama Theatre. Come to a casual get together on Saturday 18 February at La Mama and meet other young people (15-30 years old) keen to get involved in theatre making.
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When: Saturday 18 February, 3pm-5pm
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Where: La Mama Theatre courtyard (205 Faraday Street, Carlton)
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 download flyer (239kb)
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RSVPto Bree McKilligan by Friday 10 February on 0401 593 300 or bmckilligan@cmy.net.au.
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New CMY resources: Good Practice Guides
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CMY’s Sector Development and Policy team has produced a series of five Good Practice Guides. These publications are designed to provide organisations and workers with tips and strategies on a number of topics:
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Culturally-Competent Intake and Assessment provides workers with guidance on how to undertake respectful and responsive intake and assessment with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
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download a copy (187kb)
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Culturally-Competent Youth Work provides organisations and workers with some strategies to enhance the accessibility and responsiveness of their service when working with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
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download a copy (187kb)
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Working with Interpreters provides workers with strategies that promote good practice when working with interpreters.
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download a copy (187kb)
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Youth Work in the Family Context presents an overview of the factors that impact on family relationships for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds and present key considerations for workers in supporting family connection.
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download a copy (187kb)
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Youth work with Young People from Migrant and Refugee Backgrounds explores themes relevant to young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds and discusses strategies for supporting good practice when working with this group of young people.
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download a copy (187kb)
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All these resources are available in the resources section
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE SECTOR
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Details of upcoming events, conferences and new resources in the multicultural youth sector. If you have an event or resource you want promoted through CMY Digest, please send details to info@cmy.net.au
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“A Long Way from Home?” Conference
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The Rural and Regional Resettlement Experiences of Visible Migrants and Refugees Conference will be held on Friday 10 February 2012 at the University of Melbourne. This major conference event showcases the work of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project “Resettling Visible Migrants and Refugees in Rural and Regional Australia” and engages leading academics to provide a wider national, international and comparative overview of regional migration and settlement trends, policies, praxis and reality. Speakers include:
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- The Hon. Nick Kotsiras MP,
- Stephen Castles,
- Graeme Hugo,
- Jock Collins,
- Michele Grossman,
- Farida Fozdar,
- Brian Galligan,
- Millsom Henry-Waring and
- Martina Boese.
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To register for this event, please visit the website. Note “EarlyBird” registration closes on Friday 6 January 2012.
A free Public Forum “Whose Country is it Anyway? Opportunities and Challenges for Visible Migrants and Refugees in Rural and Regional Australia” precedes the International Conference on Thursday 9 February, 6:30pm at the University of Melbourne. Panellists include Senator Kate Lundy and Professor Graeme Hugo.
The ARC Linkage Project is conducted out of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship (OMAC). For further information, please contact Annika Kearton.
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A regularly-updated list of new resources and upcoming events in the multicultural youth sector
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IN THE MEDIA
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Multicultural youth issues in the media – what are some of the issues that are making it into the news? If you come across media articles you think should be highlighted in this newsletter, please forward to info@cmy.net.au
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Please note that the views expressed in any articles featured do not necessarily reflect the views of CMY.
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SBS take a look at diversity in Australian media
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An interesting series of videos, blogs and comments add to the debate surrounding diversity in the media.
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> visit the SBS wesbite
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Australia Day address by Dr Charlie Teo
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Respected brain surgeon Charles Teo delivered an Australia Day address that, among other subjects, highlighted racism and intolerance in Australia.
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Teo targets intolerance in Australia Day speech
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Charlie Teo urges Aussies to recognise the contributions of immigrants
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The great divide: Teo's 'be kinder' speech gets mixed reaction
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