Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities

A Partnership between government and community to promote the well-being of young people of Arabic speaking backgrounds in NSW.

Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities

How it came about

The Premier announced the Partnership in July 2001 to promote the well being of young people from Arabic speaking backgrounds. The program funds educational, family support, sport and recreation, cultural and youth development activities within a framework that emphasises community consultation and the participation of young people.

Initially developed to address youth crime prevention and negative stereotyping of the Arabic community in the media, the scope of the Partnership has broadened to include a social program that seeks to respond to a range of challenges facing Arabic speaking young people and their families.

What will it achieve

After consultation with participants including community stakeholders, there was agreement that the following outcomes for Arabic speaking young people were central to the program:

• Improving learning experiences for those at risk of opting out of education and training
• Improving connections between school, family and communities
• Supporting parents' capacity to parent
• Increasing participation in sport and recreational activities
• Developing participation in artistic and cultural activities
• Increasing engagement in community leadership roles
• Providing programs that lead to a reduction in risk-taking and anti-social behaviour
• Promoting positive community images in the media
• Encouraging corporate and business contributions to the well being of young people
• Generating effective participation in decision-making in Government and non-government organisations.

What it does

The Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities has developed a comprehensive package of programs aimed at improving education outcomes, parent support and participation in sport and recreation as well as community relations.

These include:

• Leadership and Social Enterprise
• Education Programs (Gateways, Homework Plus and the School Parent Alliance)
• Parent Support Initiatives (Parenting Magazine, Intensive Family Support Service and School-based Transition Project)
• Sport and Recreation Activities (Sports Connect, Sports Trailers, Sports Leadership and Primary Schools Strategy)

For individual project descriptions, please visit our website at www.youthpartnership.nsw.gov.au

Follow this link to the Youth Partnership with Arabic Speaking Communities website for individual project descriptions (opens in a new browser window)

Who is involved

The Partnership is a joint initiative between Arabic speaking communities and the NSW Government.

A high level Implementation Committee, chaired by the Director-General of the NSW Premier's Department, spearheads the Partnership. Its membership includes prominent members of the Arabic speaking community, young people and representatives of NSW Government agencies.

The Partnership is led by the NSW Premier's Department and includes the following Government agencies:

• Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW
• NSW Department of Education and Training
• NSW Department of Community Services
• NSW Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation
• Bankstown Health
• NSW Police
• University of Western Sydney

An Advisory Board has also been established to inform the work of Arabic Youth Australia - An Account of CAF Community Fund. The Board has representatives from the Arabic speaking background business community, the NSW Premier's Department, Community Relations Commission and CAF Australia.

What projects is it linked to

See: Canterbury Bankstown Place Project.

Also see: Who is involved.

For further information

Contact	:	Mr Lou Bacchiella, Senior Project Manager
Address	:	DoCS Communities Division, PO Box 3047 Bankstown Square, Bankstown NSW 2200
Phone	:	02 9205 1516
Fax	:	02 9205 1520
Email	:	Lou.Bacchiella@community.nsw.gov.au

WWW

:

http://www.youthpartnership.nsw.gov.au