Australia’s Youth Programmes

As most of the articles I write are about business migration to Australia and the Australian economy, it thought it would be enlightening to hear how Australia caters to the needs of Australian youth and how the country fosters them.

Australia believes that the youth of Australia are the future leaders of Australia and have many youth development programmes.

The following are some of the programmes:-

The Australian Youth Forum(AYF)

This programme enables youths to raise their issues and discuss them with the government. The government demonstrate that it values the voice of Australian youth. The programme encourages them to express their opinions creatively.

Heywire 2009

This programme gives youth in the rural and regional Australia the opportunity to express their ideas, opinions and feelings. It also gives them a chance to travel to Canberra to take part in different events.

Young Agribusiness Professionals (YAPS)

This Victorian Farmers Federation(VFF) initiative, gives leadership opportunities for youths who are invloved with VFF and agriculture. The focus of this group is to develop the skills within this industry, reinforcing agriculture’s position in the media, offering farm ownership opportunities, attracting youth into the industry and giving them career opportunities.

Community Networks and Capacity Building

The objective of this programme is to develep leadership and diplomacy skills among the youth. This includes Indienous Australians and people from various culture and language backgrounds who are involved in major industries, especially those who are affected by climate change.

Save The Children – Australia

The Save the Children Organization has 29 national organisations working together to deliver programs in more than 120 countries. In Australia, their programs are focused on maternal and child health, early childhood development, education and working with teenagers. They also support groups who are former refugees, or children and mothers in isolated areas.

Specifically, the Save the Children Organization has the following learning programs throughout Australia:

1. Mobile Playbus Programme

This programme makes it possible for children from isolated areas to enjoy interaction with other children by playing with the toys on the playbus. They also provide children planned activities to help develop their skills and links to the society they are living in.

2. Early Learning Centres

Having 2 preschool centres in country Victoria and four Early Learning Centres, these centres are geared towards educational, nutritional needs of mothers and young people.

3. Working with newly arrived families

In Western Australia, they have the “It Takes a Village … Multicultural Early Learning Programme”. This focuses on offering parenting support and early childhood education for immigrants and refugee families.

4. Assisting children who need extra help

In New South Wales, they have the Bourke Early Intervention Learning Program which is intended to assist children who have mental health development problems.