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cmyi update hot issues, news and events dfd What's Happening at CMYI 7 May 2008 Victorian Government Budget Supports Refugee Students CMYI has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcements in the 2008-09 State Budget for increased funding to support refugee students. download media release (112kb) 7 May 2008 Professional Development Calendar now available Our Professional Development team is conducting several training sessions this year, including a NEW three-part training program on working with refugee and newly arrived young people in the family context. Download the Calendar for further information and a registration form. download media release (270kb) 1 May 2008 New Vacancies at CMYI CMYI has three positions currently available! For more information, including position descriptions and how to apply, click the link below to go to our new Careers page. > go to careers @ cmyi 17 March 2008 Mentoring for Leadership - be inspired and challenged Multifaith Multicultural Youth Mentoring is a new initiative that aims to foster connections between decision makers in the Victorian community, and young people from diverse cultural and faith backgrounds. The project entails two programs running concurrently at Victoria University in Footscray and RMIT University in the City. It's a great opportunity to: Liaise and communicate with successful Victorian leaders from the government, corporate, community, and faith sectors; Extend professional and personal networks; Learn from mentors’ experiences and help increase their understanding of the issues young people from different cultural and faith backgrounds face. If you would like to find out more, please contact Athalia at CMYI on (03) 9340 3700, 0448 623 006 or azwartz@cmyi.net.au. 6 March 2008 Multicultural Leaders in Sustainability Are you concerned about the environment and sustainability? CMYI is currently looking for young people aged 18-25 from migrant and refugee backgrounds who live in Melbourne's south and south-east to take part in Multicultural Leaders in Sustainability - a new training program that will give you the skills and knowledge to help educate your community about environmental and sustainability issues. The training program, which takes place from April to October, is free. For more details contact CMYI on (03) 9340 3700 or info@cmyi.net.au. 17 January 2008 Multicultural Youth Pledge CMYI's Multicultural Youth Pledge is a unique campaign to defend Australia’s migrant and refugee young people. > find out more... 20 December 2007 Diversity in the fringe: Local government roundtable report On Tuesday 11 December a Roundatble Forum was held at the Wyndham Youth Resource Centre in Hoppers Crossing to explore good practice in engaging young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in interface areas. 50 workers from local government and community services across metropolitan Melbourne attended the forum. Presentations from three interface council youth services - Wyndham, Whittlesea and Casey - highlighted some of the unique challenges facing services in outer metropolitan areas, particularly in light of trends towards greater numbers of migrant and refugee communities settling in these areas. download forum report (185kb) 18 December 2007 Considering consulting? A guide to meaningful consultation with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds Consultation is a tool regularly used by government and non-government agencies to gain an insight into the views and opinions of the whole or specific segments of the community. For young people whose perspectives are often marginalised or ignored, this is a particularly powerful form of participation that enables their “voices” to be heard by government, their peers, and in their communities. Many of those who wish to consult with young people acknowledge that they lack the knowledge and confidence to engage appropriately with young people from diverse backgrounds. CMYI has developed this publication to be a simple tool to guide the process. download a copy (1.21MB) 25 September 2007 Youth Referral and Independent Person Program (YRIPP) - Volunteers required YRIPP is seeking volunteers in the North, West and South East of Melbourne to donate their time to undertake training and become Independent Persons to assist in the interview process between police and young people. The law requires that an adult be present during formal police questioning of a young person under 18 years of age. When a parent or guardian is unavailable, an Independent Person (IP) is required. The role of the Independent Person is to observe the interview process and to ensure that the young person is supported and that his or her rights are protected. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to find out more about the program, please contact Francesca Pagani, YRIPP Program Administrative Officer on (03) 9340 3777 or admin@yripp.org.au. CMYI Youth Participation Register CMYI is regularly contacted by government departments and organisations wanting to involve culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) young people in activities or events. The purpose of the CMYI Youth Participation Register is to list young people aged 16-25 years who would like to be contacted when such opportunities arise. > find out more... dfd CMYI e-News 21 April 2008 April CMYI e-News The latest edition of e-News takes a look at the impact of the 'Mosquito', an ultrasonic noise device used to deter young people from congregating in public spaces. Also... Report: 'Is it cos I is different?' comedy event 2020 Youth Summit Report: Youth Dialogue Forum Exploring sporting opportunities for refugee and migrant young people with a disability Bi-Cultural Workers Forum > go to CMYI e-News Resources and Events Forum: Is multiculturalism good for women? Advocacy, Apathy and Attitude In the 1970s, migrant women activists fought for access to basic services such as childcare, women’s health information, better working conditions and refuge from domestic violence. What are the issues for today’s migrant women? Do we still need to fight for access to services? Have attitudes changed? This free forum is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Trailblazers: Migrant Women Activists, currently showing at the Immigration Museum until 27 July. The exhibition will be open from 5pm for a free viewing by forum guests. Date: Wednesday 21 May Time: 6pm (exhibition viewing from 5pm) Location: Immigration Museum (400 Flinders Street, Melbourne) download flyer (21kb) RSVP: bookings essential - call (03) 9927 2754. Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) is excited to present a proposed reform agenda for early childhood services and schools that will drive improvement and integration and help us to deliver the best possible outcomes for all our children and young people. The proposed reform agenda is outlined in three discussion papers, available from the DEECD's Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform website. DEECD is seeking feedback from families, practitioners, education and early childhood stakeholders and the wider Victorian community to assist in the Blueprint's development. > find out more... Free statistics information sessions How can data from the 2006 Census help your organisation plan to be more effective? The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is running a series of free workshops throughout Victoria in May and June to demonstrate how community groups and not-for-profit organisations(among other service providers) can make use of ABS data. The sessions will focus on what is available from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and how the data can be used to assist regional planning and decision making. download flyer (524kb) Download the flyer for dates and locations. To reserve a place at one of the workshops, email vic.client.services@abs.gov.au. In The News 4 May 2008 Kicking on: a refugee's story "Abdi Artan's journey to Australia came through civil war, a Kenyan refugee camp and almost eight years in New Zealand but he says that Australian Rules was not only his ultimate calling card to fitting in as a black adolescent in inner-city Melbourne, but also a frightening detour." > go to The Age article 30 April 2008 Teach instead of test "The test has made outsiders of people who should be insiders. It has also downgraded the hugely important place of citizenship to sometimes trivial questions about our recent history." > go to The Age article 16 April 2008 Escape from the mire "Morwell is a long way from Maiwut, Nhial Bangoang's home town in southern Sudan, but it is reminiscent of his birthplace's idyllic charms before the conflict." > go to The Australian article 5 April 2008 We're not racist, but... Research for VicHealth has exposed the contradictions in Australian society over attitudes to race. There seems to be agreement among the experts that Australia generally is one of the least racist countries in the world, yet "pockets of racism" exist across the country. > go to The Age article 26 March 2008 Media Watch: 'Crime stats' If you're going to get a reporter who isn't a statistician to plough through detailed police figures on immigrants committing crimes in Australia, you'd better make sure he gets it right. The Sunday Herald Sun newspaper didn't. > go to the transcript on the Media Watch website > view the video 3 March 2008 The buck stops with the Immigration Minister "It seems the motivating factor Evans has for abrogating responsibility is that he is uncomfortable about having to make decisions that may not please all people at all times. But that's what happens when voters choose your team to make decisions in government for them." > go to The Age article