Australian Government - Australian Youth Forum

News

News and Events

New topic for discussion - Global Poverty

25-03-09

The Australian Youth Forum (AYF) has a new discussion topic on 'Global Poverty'. Many people told us that they would like to discuss global poverty and the Millennium Development Goals through the AYF Ideas Boards.

Thanks to those who contributed to the discussion topics of 'Violence and Safety', 'Contributing to Democracy' and 'Human Rights'. These boards are now closed and the Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis MP, will be taking a look at all the ideas, views and opinions. Feedback and analysis will be made available through the AYF website.

Input on the 'Violence and Safety' and 'Contributing to Democracy' topics will be combined with the views collected during the national youTHINK forum that was held on 20 February 2009. Feedback on this event will be available soon. In the meantime you can read the Steering Committee's reflection on youTHINK and view the photo gallery.

Your views on 'Human Rights' will be provided as an AYF submission to the Attorney-General's National Human Rights Consultation. The AYF Human Rights submission will be made available through the AYF website. If you would like to make your own submission as part of the consultations, please visit the Attorney Generals website at www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au.

Don’t forget, if you have an idea for a future discussion topic, you can let us know through our email form.

Body Image Advisory Group announced

The Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, announced the membership of the new National Advisory Group on Body Image at their first meeting in Sydney on Tuesday, 3 March.

The Advisory Group will be chaired by former magazine editor Mia Freedman and members include model and media identity Sarah Murdoch, Girlfriend magazine editor Sarah Cornish, founder of the Butterfly Foundation, Claire Vickery and body image researcher Susan Paxton.

The establishment of the Advisory Group comes two months after the topic was discussed here on the AYF site. This discussion and the establishment of the Advisory Group shows the Australian Government’s commitment to this important issue.

“Young Australians are telling us loud and clear that they are concerned about negative body image and the impact that it has on them, their friends and the community,” said Ms Ellis.

You can view the Minister’s media release announcing the Advisory Group on the Ministers Media Centre website.

Youth access to legal advice goes online

Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, launched Youthlaw Online on 6 March 2009. Youthlaw Online has been developed provide young people in Victoria with greater access to legal advice. It uses real-time video and document sharing capabilities to help young people across Victoria consult with lawyers based at Youthlaw’s Melbourne office.

For more information, please see the media release on the Attorney Generals website.

New topic now available

16-01-09

Firstly, a big thank you to all those people who contributed to the Bullying ideas board; we really appreciate you sharing your experiences and thoughts on this topic. The Minister for Youth’s response and what action the Australian Government is currently taking on this issue will be available on We hear you soon.

The new discussion topic is Human Rights. This topic was high on the list of suggestions for future topics, for both the AYF Youth Engagement Steering Committee and for many website users.

Human rights are not just theoretical; they affect every one of us, every day, which is why the Australian Government is interested in what you have to say. As well as providing your views to the AYF, you will be contributing to the Government’s National Human Rights Consultation process. So, share your views or check out what other young people think; go to Have a say.

Don’t forget, if you have an idea for a future discussion topic, you can let us know through this email form.

Also – stay tuned to the website for more information on ‘youTHINK’ - the first ever AYF event to be held simultaneously across ten locations around the country on 20 February 2009.

New ideas board coming soon

The Bullying ideas board will come to an end this week, so a new topic for discussion will be opening soon. Stay tuned for the announcement of the next topic!

There has been such a great response to the initial topics and some really good suggestions have been made. A summary of all the ideas and suggestions received through the Bullying ideas board, as well as the next steps, will be provided on the We hear you page shortly.

Don't forget, if you have an idea for a future discussion topic, you can let us know through this email form.

Also, keep checking this page for news on how to be involved in the inaugural AYF national forum to be held on 20 February 2009.