The Youth Collective is an initiative coordinated by SSI which focuses on young people from multicultural, migrant and refugee backgrounds. Through the delivery of activities that build their confidence, resilience and leadership skills, as well as the collaboration of youth workers and others across the youth, education and settlement sectors, it offers a platform for knowledge sharing and harnessing collective expertise, and provides opportunities for young people to have a say in settlement service delivery planning, implementation, and outcomes.
Sector Support and Collaboration
The NSP Youth Workers Network consists of youth workers from across the NSW Settlement Partnership, a dynamic consortium of 20 settlement service providers led by SSI to deliver services to newly arrived migrants and refugees. The youth workers, based across Sydney and regional NSW, meet regularly to collaborate on projects, share resources and learn from each other’s respective youth programs and activities.
We have also had cross-sector partnerships. For example, we collaborated with the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service, Primary Health Networks and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to co-design resources for the Multicultural Community Wellbeing campaign.
Youth Representation and Leadership
The “20Voices” Youth Symposiums bring together young people and those who work with them to convene around issues of critical importance for newly arrived youth. Previous symposiums have focused on Education, Employment, Housing and Health.
We also work with young people to develop their leadership skills so that they can reach their full potential and become successful advocates both locally and at a global level. Youth Collective ambassadors and young people who have been through the program have even been invited as delegates to the United Nations.
Meet our Youth Collective superstar, Subash
Subash Poudel is a social worker and advocate in the multicultural, youth and disability sectors. As an international student and migrant, he is passionate about creating a safe space for people from diverse backgrounds to feel at home in Australia and is active in his local community.
Policy & Advocacy
The Youth Collective champions young people to play a role in the development of policies that impact their lives. We do this by creating spaces for young people to share their challenges, hopes and dreams – their lived experience. For example, we asked young people to reflect on some of the ways they coped with the challenges of the pandemic, and how it had impacted their settlement journeys. Building on that foundation, the Youth Speaks project amplifies the voices of migrant and refugee youth through conversations with young people in the community, to better understand their settlement needs and experiences and identify advocacy priorities. If you are a teacher, youth worker or university student who is interested in volunteering with the project, running or co-running a session, or just want to learn more about it, we would love to hear from you!
For more information about any of the above, please get in touch with:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Policy & Strategy Lead, Youth Collective, NSW Settlement Partnership)