Orygen Special Event: By Young People for Young People

The Youth Advisory Council at Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health are pleased to invite young people from across Australia to attend a Special Event: By Young People for Young People on Friday 12th April from 9:00-4:30pm.

This event provides an opportunity for young people aged 17-25 years from across Australia to connect with each other and share their experiences of youth participation/engagement, advocacy or co-design activities. The day will focus on celebrating and sharing the great work that is being done by young people and their organisations. There will also be conversations about the benefits, challenges and the future of youth participation.

Young people will hear from inspiring keynote speakers and table top presenters, take part in a workshop as well as a panel discussion. The workshop will focus on the benefits and challenges of being involved in youth participation/advocacy and identify key messages and tips for young people wanting to get involved in these types of roles in the future. From this workshop, Orygen’s Youth Advisory Council will create a “By Young People for Young People” resource, which will become a useful resource for young people wanting to be or already involved in youth participation.

Please note:

• It is important that all young people who attend are supported by their organisation. Although limited support will be available on the day, we encourage young people and organisations to discuss the support that they will need to attend. As many young people will be travelling to this event, registrations are open to professionals in supporting roles to attend but please note the program is targeted to young people in youth participation.
• Although this will be a fun and celebratory day, it’s important to note that many young people will be representing mental health organisations, so please be mindful that we anticipate mental health will be a reoccurring theme on the day. Additionally, we will be discussing challenges young people face during their involvement in youth participation and this may be a difficult conversation for young people. We will ensure that we continue to remind everyone during the day that there’s no pressure to speak to every theme.
• There is a registration fee, which we anticipate will be covered by the organisation of which you are representing. However please reach out to us at youthparticipation@orygen.org.au if you are unable to cover this cost.

Overview of Program Timings

• 8:30 am - Registrations open (Orygen Foyer)
• From 9:15 am – Welcome and morning session
• 1:30pm – Networking Lunch
• From 2:30pm – Afternoon session
• 4:30pm – Close

You can see the full program by following the link below. Please note the program may be subject to change.

https://bit.ly/2BVQjwo

For any queries, please contact youthparticipation@orygen.org.au

Presenter Biographies

Bianca Graham (Nyamba Buru Yawuru)

Bianca is Nyamba Buru Yawuru’s Youth Development Officer and she works to empower and grow young people’s skills and leadership capabilities in all areas. She administers the Yawuru Youth Scholarship Fund and engages with organizations and young people around town to increase their capacity and skills. Bianca has always been interested in using sport as a way to engage with young people and bring out the best in them. She has worked with young people at the Broome Youth and Family Hub and is involved in junior basketball and the women’s football league. She is now working on developing a PCYC basketball program similar to the Midnight Basketball activity which brings young people in and offer opportunities through workshops. The aim is to bring agencies together and work collaboratively with partners including Broome Youth and Families Hub, the Red Cross, Shire of Broome and the Broome police. As part of this collaborative network, Yawuru can offer leadership support for young people that will focus on finding their individual strengths and areas of interest. Bianca also engages with other agencies such as the Broome Girls Academy and sharing her experience and mentoring through school groups or other areas. Bianca can already see the leadership qualities of young people around town and is looking to ways to harness those natural talents and assist people to focus on future goals.

Tahl Collinson (Batyr)

batyr is a for-purpose organisation working in preventative education to engage, educate and empower young people to have positive conversations around mental health. batyr aims to smash the stigma surrounding mental health and encourage young people to reach out for support. A big part of this is training young people with lived experience of mental ill health to share their stories in high schools, universities, workplaces and communities across Australia.

Tahl is a speaker with batyr. With a degree in psychology Tahl spends most days working in the education field. When he's not out smashing the stigma with the batyr crew you can find him either adventuring outdoors, or curled up at home with a good book.

Getting to the Orygen and Parking

Please note that we still have some construction/demolition happening on the site of our brand new facility, the attached link will provide information on the best way to get to Orygen and where to park.

https://bit.ly/2sikKaM

We currently don't have signage at the front. The address is still 35 Poplar Road, Parkville. We are located opposite the Royal Melbourne Hospital - Royal Park Campus. Please note some GPS map directions may take you to the Melbourne Zoo. The best way to avoid this confusion is to enter our name, ‘Orygen’ in the search field, rather than our street address. You should ensure any taxi drivers are aware of this.

Parking

• On-site paid parking (see link above for details of how to access)
• Paid parking at Royal Melbourne Hospital – Royal Park Campus directly across the road
• Paid parking at the Melbourne Zoo

Taxi

• Melbourne - 13CABS – 13 2227 or https://www.13cabs.com.au/
• Uber is another option but Orygen is unable offer any reimbursements for Uber rides

Public Transport

• All public transport travel in Melbourne requires a MYKI Card. More information on the different options and where to purchase them can be found at this site: https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki
• All public transport information is best accessed via the Public Transport Victoria website https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/ or ptv app for mobiles (search ptv in app store)
• The closest train station to Orygen is Royal Park Station on the Upfield Line.
• #58 Tram runs close to Orygen, the closest stop is #27-Royal Park Station/Royal Park. Then approx. 500 m walk to Orygen.
• #19 Tram runs along Royal Parade. The closest stop is #16/Walker St, then approx. a 1 km walk to Orygen.