Last year over 300 attended the sell-out two-day conference. We listened to the youth sector about what they wanted to hear more about in 2024 and arranged professional development sessions on topics, such as improving engagement of young people in organisations, the role of hubs and the key tenets of youth work.
Youth Action thanks our generous event partners Office of Regional Youth and Department of Communities and Justice, so we are able to provide travel assistance to a limited number of people to attend.
Event Details
Location: On Wiradjuri Country at Dubbo RSL
Date: Thursday 31 October – Friday 1 November
Day 1: 31 October, from 9.00am to 5.00pm
Day 2: 1 November, from 9.30am to 2.30pm
The Conference Program
We are excited to learn from our knowledgeable experts from the youth sector across panels, workshops and masterclasses on 31 October and 1 November.
Check out the preview below of what you will experience at the Conference. This program may be subject to change. Click here for the speaker bios.
Day 1 – Thursday, 31 October 2024
9:00am: Welcome Aunty Marg Walker – Dubbo Local Aboriginal Land Council
Penny Lamaro Chairperson Youth Action
9:10am: Minister Jackson Message
9:15am: 1.1 Better practice in working with First Nations young people, organisations, and communities
Panel: Kevin Jones, General Manager, REDI.E, Charmaine Mara, Dubbo Regional Council
9:50am: 1.2 Key Tenets of Programs that Successfully Engage Young People
Panel: Andrew Johnson, CEO, Youth Action, Anthony Shannon, Department of Communities & Justice, Kim McLoughry, CEO RYSS, Paige Thurlow-Want, Manager Youth Work Team, MYST
Chair: Penny Lamaro
10:35am: Morning Tea
11am: 1.3 Young People as victims/survivors of violence
Panel: Penny Lamaro, CEO, Women’s Shelter Armidale, Susan Watson, CEO, Fams, Maree Walk, CEO, ACWA
Chair: Andrew Johnson
11:45am: 1.4 Improving engagement of young people in local communities and community planning, hosted by Local Government Youth Development Network
Panel: Charmaine Mara, Dubbo Regional Council, Luke Wallace, Goulburn Milwaree Council, Kane Sparks, KD Solutions, Michelle Tilden, Central Coast Council, Sewa Emojong, ES Emojong Consultancy
Chair: PJ O’Meara Camden Council and LGYDN Chair
12:30pm Concurrent sessions 1:
1.5 Centering young people’s voices – Starlite Room
Ellie Tree, Youth Speak Bellingen, Emily Duncan, Multicultural Communities Council Illawarra, Martina Pearce, YES Employment
Chair: Megan Lee
1.6 How to better support participation of young people with lived experience in organisations – Jacaranda Room
Sarah Abi-Kattar, Young Carers Youth Advisory Group, Tamisha Matara, South West Sydney Multicultural Resource Centre
Chair: Veronica Gordon
1.7 Supporting young people to develop confidence and resilience through creative approaches – Auditorium Room
Cultural Gardens – Peter Dawe, Botanic Gardens
Games as a support tool – Sam Stanford, Blue Sky Community Services
Chair: Lakin Agnew
1:15pm: Lunch
2pm Concurrent sessions 2:
1.8 Practical resources of young people with trauma and young people with health literacy – Jacaranda Room
Using non-diagnostic approaches to assessing young people with trauma experiences – Sue Buratti, Australian Childhood Foundation
Young parents’ online mental health literacy resource – Debra Mainwaring, Western Sydney University
1.9 Strengths based approaches working with young people in representing themselves and their issues – Auditorium Room
Veronica Gordon, Youth Action
Chair: Andrew Johnson
1:10 Strengthening organisations to keep children and safe – Starlite Room
Freya Conomos, Child Safe Engagement Officer, Office of Childrens Guardian,
Les Coe, Child Safe Engagement Officer, Office of Childrens Guardian
Chair: Hayley Rose
2:45pm Concurrent sessions 3:
1.11 How do we support good settlement in the regions for young humanitarian arrivals? – Starlite Room
Annukina Warda, Multicultural Youth Network NSW
Chair: Veronica Gordon
1.12 Work ready, young people and workplace right – Auditorium Room
Karina Inostroza and Ammy Singh, Solicitors, Legal Aid
Chair: Penny Lamaro
1.13 Navigating politics and making informed decisions, embedding data in collaborative practice and jumping the fence from community into schools – Jacaranda Room
Navigating politics and making informed decisions, embedding data in collaborative practice – Tania Krasinski, Redwood Work Collective
Jumping the fence from community into schools – Stacey Jacobs, Cessnock High School
Chair: Hayley Rose
3:30pm: Afternoon Tea
3:45pm: Youth Sector Roundtable Consultations
4:30pm: Finish
Day 2 – Friday, 1 November 2024
9:10am Welcome and recap of Day 1
9:30am: 2.2 Youth Hubs
Panel: Louise Pateman and Dylan Disciascio, RYSS, Penny Lamaro, CEO, Women’s Shelter Armidale, Leanne Sanders, CEO, Visual Dreaming
Chair: Andrew Johnson
10:15am: 2.3 NSW Customer Service and Office for Regional Youth Life Skills Project
Linda Cooper, Office for Regional Youth, Joh Leader and Mel Singh, Leader Life Dubbo Life Skills Project
Chair: Penny Lamaro
11am: Morning Tea
11:30am Concurrent sessions 4:
2.4 Youth Work and Youth Sector Capacity Building and Sustainability – Auditorium Room
Panel: Youth Work NSW, Samantha Kettlewell and Berenice Murphy, TAFE NSW, Genevieve Richie and Howard Sercombe Western Sydney University, Sue Buratti, Australian Childhood Foundation
Chair: Megan Lee
2.5 How to think through program design and implementation through a right based lens? – Jacaranda Room
Andrew Johnson, Thrive International
2.6 Youth empowerment programs showcase – Starlite Room
Mark Robinson, MPower Program, One Vision Productions, Avalon Hope Bourne, Sonder Youth
Chair: Penny Lamaro
12:15pm: Concurrent sessions 5:
2.7 Practice examples, programming for young people doing it tough – Auditorium Room
Damien Corbridge, Community Restorative Centre, Amanda Dunn, Safe Places for Children, Karina Inostroza, Work Development Team, Legal Aid
Chair: Veronica Gordon
2.8 Arts, voice and social change – Jacaranda Room
Hayden Tonazzi, Associate Producer, ATYP
Chair: Andrew Johnson
2.9 Young people and victims’ services – Starlite Room
Jason Teoh, Marrickville Legal Centre
Chair: Hayley Rose
1pm: Lunch – Youth Action Annual General Meeting
1:45pm: 2.10 Research and program responses to social cohesion in NSW
Panel: Andrew Johnson, CEO, Youth Action, Danielle Taylor, Fairfield Council, Julie Charlton, Youth Advocate
Chair: Penny Lamaro
2:30pm: Farewell
Since 2013 Youth Action has held the annual NSW Youth Work Awards to recognise and celebrate all the exceptional work of youth services and the youth sector across the state. Nominating an individual, program or service is a way for you to publicly highlight their outstanding achievements with young people. There are 7 program or service Award categories and 3 individual Award categories to choose from. Nominations close at midnight on 28 July.
Event Details
Location: On Wiradjuri Country at Dubbo RSL
Date: Thursday 31 October from 6pm – 9pm
Cost: $80 Members, $100 non-Members – includes 3 course meal.
The categories for the NSW Youth Work Awards 2024 are:
- Outstanding Work with Young People from Diverse Cultures, Backgrounds, Experiences (an organisation, program or service)
- Outstanding Work with First Nations Young People (an organisation, program or service)
- Outstanding Work with Regional Young People (an organisation, program or service)
- Outstanding Youth Participation (an organisation, program or service)
- Outstanding Partnership (an organisation, program or service)
- NSW Youth Service of the Year (an organisation, program or service)
- NSW Youth Sector Volunteer of the Year (an individual)
- NSW Youth Worker of the Year (an individual)
- NSW Emerging Youth Worker of the Year (an individual who has worked in the youth sector for under 3 years)
- NSW Youth Worker Hall of Fame (an individual who has worked in the youth sector for over 15 years)
youthaction.org.au 