Mentoring: Building quality relationships
Facilitated by Joy Eaton, NZ Youth Mentoring Network Deputy Chairperson, each panelist will share some key messages about their experience of what it takes to build quality mentoring relationships between a mentor and a young person.
A bus stop is an exciting, dynamic session format which lets you engage with presenters, and learn about a variety of topics in one go! You'll move around the room in small groups to hear from up to four different presenters, making for a really personal experience.
Utilising cultural markers to better engage Māori rangatahi and whānau in your services
Discussions are currently happening across Aotearoa regarding how Māori can have better support in in the various social agencies and services available. Cultural markers provide a framework for practitioners to relate and support rangatahi and whānau by aligning with whakaaro and matauranga Māori.
We use stories and examples of the work we do to explore how the following cultural markers: pōwhiri, whanaungatanga and poroporoāki can shape the engagement and relationship between Māori and social services.
Christchurch Youth Action Plan Initiative
Christchurch Youth Action Plan Initiative is youth led and co-created to provide the young people of Christchurch a platform to openly express their ideas for a better city and quality of life to all stakeholders. This opportunity came from a unique partnership between the Christchurch City Council and the young people of Christchurch to collaborate and try something new. This bus stop will cover the process of engagement and efforts taken to ensure that genuine youth voice was visible in the final document and the key actions taken following its launch. The initiative began in November 2016 and quickly expanded when the various youth sector groups supporting the process identified the need for it to be broader, to engage diverse young people and ensure genuine youth-voice. These decisions were made in real time as we worked to a launch event in July 2017 but there is more to be done.
A long way home
Former and current Kāpiti Coast Youth Council members will take the group through the learnings and experiences they went through to achieve a Youth Development Centre for Kāpiti. With the Youth Development Centre opening in July 2018, the adventure started back in 2010 when the Youth Council carried out a district wide youth survey where it was indicated young people in Kāpiti wanted a Youth Development Centre. The presentation will unpack the challenges and triumphs of the journey the Youth Council then went on to campaign for this from lobbying Council, getting the public on board and finally working with Council and Zeal to make it happen!
Youth health quality improvement: Towards youth friendly primary care
This presentation showcases improvements made by Primary Care Practices engaged in the Youth Friendly Primary Care Quality Improvement Initiative in Counties Manukau, and shares the tools that were developed. The purpose of the initiative was to support primary care providers to identify their strengths and weaknesses in youth health, and use quality improvement methods with the goal of providing youth friendly primary care based on international best practice.
Innovative action based learning and developing youth leadership skills
The workshop will have participants both engaging in and delivering ABL activities. The purpose of the workshop is to focus upon clear communication and developing confidence and leadership skills.
Each YMCA workshop facilitator will deliver an ABL activity to a small group. The group will discuss and plan their delivery of the ABL activity and deliver to their peers. Time will be allocated for the groups to discuss pros and cons of the approach taken and what improvements could be made if any.
This is an activity the YMCA Raise Up coordinators deliver in schools to Year 13 leaders and has proven to be effective. Developing both confidence and leadership skills in young people, the activity is enjoyable and interactive. Youth workers will be able to replicate within their own practices and an ABL activity folder will be provided for participants to take away.
The Wounded Learner Research Project
About one in six of us have experienced potentially traumatic events during our childhood. Exposure to trauma and toxic stress affect development, health and how we learn. Many of the most vulnerable young people in our communities have suffered traumatic events that are often not picked up at school or by social services, meaning that struggling young people are sometimes re-wounded by the people who are supposed to be supporting them.
This workshop will outline a proposed new research project into how youth workers and educators can use group activities based in community and cultural settings to help meet the developmental needs of wounded young people and reconnect them to learning.
The workshop, and the research that follows it, are being led by Lloyd Martin. Lloyd is a writer and educator with the Praxis Network, he has heaps of practical youth work experience in his hometown of Porirua.
A bus stop is an exciting, dynamic session format which lets you engage with presenters, and learn about a variety of topics in one go! You'll move around the room in small groups to hear from up to four different presenters, making for a really personal experience.
Water, Wairere and Wairua: an emerging model of supervision for youth workers in Aotearoa
In this presentation I will be introducing my model of supervision for youth workers called Water, Wairere, and Wairua. The presentation will inquire into key concepts around identity, reflection, kaitiakitanga, and culture to highlight the journey of a youth worker and touch on my own identity and journey in the development of my model. The presentation will be informed by relevant rangahau from Maori and non Maori bodies of knowledge and supported by whakapapa korero.
Incredibly practical youth involvement guide
A speed run to get you ready to include youth in your work, designed to be practical and easy - all from a youth perspective!
Bounce's 5 Tips to Wellbeing and How to Use Them
Experience Bounce's wellbeing workshop, which has been developed by young people for young people. It will be delivered by young people too (all things going according to plan!).
NZQA's new Apprenticeship in Youth Work Programme
Careerforce is the Industry Training Organisation for the Youth Work sector and would like to share and celebrate that in consultation with Ara Taiohi, Korowai Tupu, Praxis and other key stakeholders in the youth work sector, they have developed and launched the new and fully funded Level 4 Apprenticeship in Youth Work programme.
Join us to look at:
Youth voices: Reflections from young people about communication in youth justice settings
This workshop will explore themes that emerged from in-depth interviews with young people on their experiences of communicating in youth justice contexts.
Adults need to create effective ways for young people to have their say and actively participate in discussions, and complex information needs to be clearly communicated to young people. The stakes can be high if communication breaks down in the talk-based services that are integral to many justice and rehabilitation processes. Communication breakdowns can be frequent, particularly when young people experience speech, language and communication difficulties. These difficulties are common for those involved with youth justice, behaviour, mental health and care and protection agencies, and difficulties often go undetected.
Listening to children and young people are central goals for many organisations and young people's views provide the workforce with useful insights and suggestions for improving communication.
HWC: A community model for change
Stress, anxiety, depression and suicidality amongst young people are on the rise. We all know that new strategies are needed to combat this terrifying trend.
Ignite your community knowledge to change existing youth spaces into opportunities for building awareness, resilience and resourcefulness.
The HWC model is an innovative approach to transforming your local sports / dance / youth groups into dynamic proactive interventions.
Hear from the experienced Highbury Whānau Centre Team on how you can use their model to change young people's lives.
Most of the time online's fine but when its not there's ICON: Our co-designed app for combatting online negativity
Since November 2016, I have led a team of 14-19 year olds through a co-design process to look at how technology could offer real time, relevant and relatable information to young people experiencing negativity online. I successfully gained funding to create the ICON (In Case of Online Negativity) web app. This involved taking an idea - how to provide a version of a Sticks 'n Stones advocate to other young people New Zealand wide where we did not have groups - and building that into a clear, structured and engaging online tool that other young people would find helpful.
In this workshop, we will share the planning and design process highlights (and lowlights) and offer participants the opportunity to explore our online tool to be able to use it alongside young people or signpost them to it so that they can find a range of options to address online harm.
Snapshot sessions give you a 'snapshot' of a range of awesome projects happening across the motu - and beyond! You'll hear from all the presenters below, and there'll be a chance for questions and answers afterward.
Aotearoa Youth Workers: What influences our 'professional identity'
The presentation will cover the key findings to my Masters research, which asked 'How do Ara Taiohi professional association founding members perceive their professional identity as youth workers?'.
The presentation aims to raise awareness around the importance of self-care for youth workers, create a talking point of what are we actually doing for self-care, and consider whether these actions are actually healthy options.
Whakapiri - Whakamarama - Whakamana: A reflective framework for connection, participation and change
This presentation leverages the lessons learnt in similar fields to advocate for the benefits of reflective practice in youth work. It proposes the use of a model developed in Aotearoa in order to ensure intentional practice and authentic participation - Whakapiri-Whakamarama-Whakamana. The model is introduced as a framework for reflection - both in the moment and post-session.
The presentation explores opportunities to use this model to measure the effectiveness of our practice to support connection and empowerment of taiohi (young people) in Aotearoa and meet the wero we all face in aligning to the principles of the Youth Development Strategy of Aotearoa - and, in doing so, act as effective, ethical practitioners.
What does it take to be great? Informally educated youth workers in the newly professionalised sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.
How can experienced, informally trained youth workers inform the sector? In capturing these youth workers' stories and knowledge, it may help to guide the youth work sector, the association and educational institutes into a newly professionalised era. The youth workers' professional association, Korowai Tupu, was formed recently with the aim of defining a competency base and creating theory and practice frameworks that support quality youth work. Therefore, the experiences of informally educated practitioners at this pivotal point in the history of the profession in Aotearoa New Zealand will provide valuable qualitative findings for the development of the profession. It will also provide the educational institutes with evidence to guide the youth development curriculum to prepare and support youth workers for their practice.
How do we know it's youth development? An evaluation study using the Five C's model of positive youth development.
This presentation will provide an overview of an evaluation study of a national school-based youth development programme for 11 - 13 year olds undertaken by Unitec Institute of Technology. The research looked qualitatively at programme outcomes from the perspectives of a young person, their parent/caregiver and their teacher in six participating schools in the upper North Island.
The Five Cs of positive youth development: confidence, competence, connection, caring and character, and the sixth C of contribution, as identified by Lerner (2004) were used as an analysis framework, as these Cs are seen as indicators that positive youth development is occurring (Phelps et al. 2009).
The presentation will discuss the findings and the ways the Cs were present in the programme. Linking to the conference theme of reflecting back to move forward, the research will invite participants to consider how the Five Cs model may be useful to practice and evaluation.
Navigating ethical maturity: New tools for youth workers
We, like many youth workers around the country, have relied on each other to debrief, consult and take action on ethical dilemmas that seemed beyond the Code of Ethics. We've also discovered some new frameworks for processing tough situations together.
The first idea is symbolic: an ethical compass for youth work. Come join our experiential reflective exercise following this compass with a challenging dilemma you've faced.
The second idea includes Six Components of Ethical Maturity, which will extend your ethical awareness and provide new language and skills for excellent youth work practice.
This interactive workshop brings to life the article we published in the inaugural issue of Kaiparahuarahi: we'll explore stories from the contributors of this journal. We hope this workshop sparks new levels of ethical reflection and creates new networks.
Finally, we seek your input into a potential 3rd edition of the Code of Ethics - this will be a memorable milestone session!
Snapshot sessions give you a 'snapshot' of a range of awesome projects happening across the motu - and beyond! You'll hear from all the presenters below, and there'll be a chance for questions and answers afterward.
The Matrix
The Matrix is a new program where we are looking to increase skills and be more informed with the help of outside professionals, which could be used for other youth groups looking to get into their communities. It's an 11 week program based on three streams: Health and Wellbeing, Community Participation, and Vocational/Employment.
Speakers come in to arm the class with up to date information, projects and tasks to broaden their horizons at home with their whanau and in their community. They connect with businesses in our communities to find opportunities for volunteer work, work experience, and the ultimate goal - paid employment. This helps our guys to be more independent and confident which empowers our guys to make good life decisions.
"We Can Do It!": Immigrant youth organising against violence and discrimination
Violence and discrimination is pervasive in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which has the highest rates of reported family violence and highest rates of teen suicide in the OECD. Young women of colour often face multiple forms of violence and discrimination: in the family, in schools and in the wider community.
Building on from the work of immigrant women who set up Shakti in 1995, Shakti Youth have been working with 13-25 year old youth in schools and universities to open up safer spaces to have conversations and organise against gender, racial, religious and age-based discrimination and violence. While the focus has been on family violence prevention, the experience of migrant or refugee youth have to be contextualised in a wider context of structural violence. In working with youth through a community mobilisation and youth development model, Shakti Youth aims to break the intergenerational cycles of family violence and provide a community for youth who are isolated and alienated as migrants.
Rolling into the future
PHAB has been changing the lives of young disabled people within New Zealand for 40 years, being the first organisation to offer social interaction for both able and disabled youth. We want to share our story of humble beginnings, the impact we are having now and our plans for the future. Showing how full youth participation and co-creation has worked for us, and how it can work for your organisation. Sharing the value of diversity and equality and how story telling is a powerful way to learn and reflect. The presentation will include side shows, a realistic timeline of co-creating projects, and a handout that has tips for storytelling and reflection.
Breathing space for youth wellbeing: arts participation, practices and principles
This presentation will illustrate powerful ways in which arts participation can support young people to flourish. It will draw from international evidence and my ongoing University of Auckland doctoral research exploring the possibilities of the arts for youth mental health and wellbeing in Aotearoa.
In my research, youth participants aged 17-24 described how arts participation created breathing space from distressing life environments where they are constantly required to perform within prescriptive and exclusionary social norms. They described how creative processes enabled rare opportunities for imagination, optimism, self expression, self-determination, and for self-discovery. My presentation will share young people's thoughts about the important practices, processes and principles that enable these things to happen. It will argue that the arts should be taken seriously as a contributor to youth wellbeing, whilst also acknowledging the urgent need for social and economic transformation.
Snapshot sessions give you a 'snapshot' of a range of awesome projects happening across the motu - and beyond! You'll hear from all the presenters below, and there'll be a chance for questions and answers afterward.
Placing youth at the head of their own waka
Sarikha Rosli is a youth advocate with experience at both ends of the system. Through an unconventional past of drug addiction, homelessness, abuse, work in the adult industry, mental illness and teenage pregnancy, to a total transformation running youth empowerment workshops in schools around the country; Sarikha offers valuable insight into how to best engage with young people and help them let their own experiences guide their journey.
Co-design with young people: Creating a space to reclaim wellbeing
This presentation shares Skylight's journey from being a 'for-youth' to a 'young people-led' grief, loss and trauma service provider.
More direct engagement with young people was necessary in order for this to happen. A large part of the co-design process was reshaping our online space to one that is engaging for young people. We know that who creates the space is critical to who participates in it.
By taking these steps, it strengthens the power young people have to take charge of their own well-being, as it allows them to advocate their own solutions for grief, loss and trauma.
Skylight will reflect on some of our key learnings on this process. It is ongoing, as young people's needs and aspirations continue to evolve. By keeping the users of our service at the centre of our focus, we can refine our services to be valuable to young people.
Youth development: Are we really making a difference?
Youth development - Are we really making a difference?
An overview of Youthtown's value based philosophy including why it is so important to to have programmes that are youth-led and co-designed by the youth they are intended for. The fundamental principles of our programme design and some real life examples from our Youth Squad members about events and programmes they have been involved in and the difference it has made to them and their lives.
Taming the programme creep beast: Techniques to refine service pathways with young people at the centre
As we adapt our approaches to respond to changing needs and new contracts, our services, programmes, and documentation change too. This can look small, such as one more question on a form, or a new welcoming process - but over time it can evolve into a daunting beast of a programme, with a never ending flood of paperwork. How can we place young people and their whānau at the centre of programme design so that our efforts are focused on what is most effective and what matters most to them?
This is the challenge that Youth Odyssey embarked on: to refine a youth-centred pathway comprising community support, a residential stay, and tailored education at our school. We are excited to share the human-centred design and co-design techniques that we used to create this refined pathway, which has increased youth engagement, and reduced wait times.
Planning for the next Youth2000 survey!
Planning is underway for the next Youth2000 survey! The Youth2000 surveys are nationally representative youth health and well-being surveys of secondary school students and students in alternative education settings and teen pregnancy units, which have been undertaken since 2000. To date over 25,000 young people from throughout New Zealand have participated in these surveys. They have been instrumental to policy makers, clinicians, youth workers, educators, families and communities in understanding the health and well-being issues of the current generation of young people.
The Youth2000 surveys have been guided by positive youth development principals which highlight the importance of context, culture and environments that nurture and shape the well-being of young people. This workshop will explore and reflect on the benefits and gaps of previous Youth2000 surveys, how they can be best utilised for the benefit of youth, and what areas should be explored in future surveys.