Advocacy, Policy and Research

MYSA is funded by the State and Federal Government to provide advice, information and support to a range of government departments and services on refugee and migrant youth issues.

Youth Settlement Action Network

MYSA convenes the Youth Settlement Action Network of SA (YSAN). YSAN consists of a range of government and non-government agencies committed to the provision of quality services to multicultural young people living in Australia.

The purpose of YSAN is to increase participation and collaboration across the sector in the development of coordinated advocacy and action to advance the needs and interests of multicultural youth.

The objectives of YSAN are:

1. To provide a consultative forum that can facilitate coordinated strategies to address and advocate for multicultural youth specific issues in South Australia;
2. To provide an opportunity for the YSAN to inform strategic state and national pliicy and influence implementation;
3. To work in clilaboration and develop responses to meet the needs of multicultural youth, particularly in relation to settlement;
4. To ensure that the sector has increased coordination through the sharing of information, opportunities and activities in multicultural youth issues;
5. To identify priorities and initiatives for the YSAN to achieve in clilaboration on an annual basis; and
6. To support the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) and provide advice and feedback on any YAC developed initiatives, programs and / or projects.

Membership is open to any agency with an interest in advancing the needs and interests of youth settlement in SA. For more information see the YSAN Terms of Reference

Meetings occur bi-monthly and membership is free. To become a member please complete the membership form

Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (Australia)

The Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (Australia), the MYAN, is a nationally recognised policy and advocacy body that represents migrant and newly arrived young people, in order to advance their rights and interests. As a national network, the MYAN is comprised of representatives from each of Australia's states and territories that represent state/territory multicultural youth sector networks.

While the MYAN has a focus on newly arrived young people, particularly those from refugee or humanitarian backgrounds, the term 'multicultural' includes international students and young people who were born in Australia to parents who settled in Australia as migrants or refugees.

The MYAN was established in 2005 in response to an identified need for a national advisory and advocacy network on multicultural youth issues. The issues and needs of multicultural young people are often overlooked as they are a sub-group of both the broader youth and multicultural sectors and underrepresented in the policy and advocacy work of both the government and non-government sectors. The MYAN was funded in 2009 by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and is auspiced by CMY.

MYSA was a founding member of MYAN and takes an active leadership role in partnership with CMY to develop capacity and provide mentoring to other jurisdictions. The MYAN currently has a focus on (i) progressing its policy priorities and (ii) supporting the development of multicultural youth sector networks at the state and territory level.

MYSA's Director is a member of the MYAN Executive.

To find out more visit www.myan.org.au MYSA actively contributes to state and national policy development through its submissions, issues papers and research. See resources and publications for further information.

Research

MYSA has also been actively involved in a range of research projects, the findings of which have been presented at state, national and international conferences. MYSA has also been invited to present at high-level forums facilitated by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the Department for Families and Communities (DFC), the Office for Youth (OFY), and the Scanlon Foundation.

MYSA has undertaken several research projects including:

MY Safe Space: Refugee Youth Homelessness in SA (2010-2011), funded by the Adelaide City Council. The aim of the research was to determine the key factors contributing to refugee youth homelessness in South Australia in order to enable policy makers and the housing and broader community services sector to respond more effectively to areas of identified need. For a copy of the research findings issue paper see resources and publications.

Under the Radar: Exploring Problem Behaviour Among Newly Arrived Youth in SA (2007-2010), funded by the Scanlon Foundation. The research was designed to contribute to a comprehensive knowledge base that is currently unavailable in the community services sector on how to respond to the most socially disengaged and disconnected at risk young people. For a copy of the research findings executive summary, strategies paper and toolkit for the sector see see resources and publications.

Refugee Youth and Mental Health (2008), funded by the Minister for Youth's Youth Council (Office for Youth). The research explored how young refugees understand mental health and illness and the key issues impacting on their wellbeing. The findings and recommendations were presented to policy and decision-makers across government departments. For a copy of the research findings issue paper see see resources and publications.

Refugee Youth and Public Space (2007), funded by the Adelaide City Council (ACC). The project was commissioned by the ACC in response to community concerns about young people's use of public space in the Central Business District (CBD) of Adelaide. The research produced five sets of findings: (1) results of 271 face-to-face interviews with young refugees and other young people CALD backgrounds; (2) results from non-participant observation of CALD young people in the CBD; (3) results from interviews with the South Australian Police (SAPOL); (4) results of questionnaires completed by businesses and retailers based in the CBD; and (5) results from questionnaires completed by service providers based in the CBD. The findings and recommendations were presented to policy and decision makers in a number of forums in South Australia and Canberra. For a copy of the research findings executive summary see see resources and publications.

Cross-Cultural Training Needs Among Mainstream Services (2005), funded by the then Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA). The overall objective of the research was to identify and describe the support and training needs of service providers working with Indigenous and CALD young people and/or their communities. The findings were used to inform a cross-cultural training package for mainstream and other agencies working with Indigenous and CALD young people. The findings were also used to improve service provision and strengthen advocacy efforts.

MYSA has also collaborated and assisted with various universities and researchers on several research projects including:

• Community and Radicalisation – An examination of perceptions, ideas, beliefs and solutions throughout Australia. ( Australian Multicultural Foundation)
• Young People and Social Inclusion in the Global City (Cultural Partners Australia and Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia)
• Young African refugees' experiences of peace and violence in South Australia. (University of South Australia PhD candidate)
• Mental Health of Refugee Children and Adolescents (University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and the Women's and Children's Hospital).
• Youth Gangs (Rob White and Centre for Multicultural Youth).
• Multicultural Youth Issues in Australia (Australian Research Alliance for Children).