Youth | Burwood Council

2013 (The Year Ahead)

The Youth Services Team at Burwood Council has a busy year ahead of them with the implementation of two projects: Stage 2 of Different People Different Voices Project (DPDVP) and WipeOut Graffiti Hotspot. With the success of Stage 1, DPDVP received a 2nd round of funding from the Federal Attorney’s General Department. With the support of partners from government and non-government organisations and young people, Burwood Council will be further developing the ‘My Australia Our Australia’ board game which will be rolled out into three regional areas. These areas include Sydney South, Sydney Central and the Inner West. The roll out will include a redevelopment of the board game for each region and an educational pack with learning resources to support the board game.

WipeOut Graffiti Hotspot funded by the Federal Attorney’s General Department is project that aims to reduce, deter and detect graffiti within Burwood local government area. Burwood Council will be working alongside Burwood PCYC, Burwood Local Area Command and Juvenile Justice to develop a program that will mentor and engage young people in a WipeOut clean up program targeting graffiti and malicious damage. The program will provide an opportunity for the young people involved to attain and build up educational and life skills. Part of the funding will also be used to purchase new equipment for the Burwood Council works and operations staff to use in graffiti prevention and management.

If you are interested in finding more about any of these two projects, please contact the Youth Services Team on 9911 9911 or email youth@burwood.nsw.gov.au .

Want to know more about young people in Burwood Local Government Area?

Did you know that there are approximately 6,252 young people living in the Burwood area? That means that about one fifth of all the people in Burwood LGA (Local Government Area) are aged between 12 - 24 years. (Based on 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data). Burwood also has the third highest proportion of young people living in the area as a percentage of the total population of the LGA compared to other Inner West Councils. Burwood LGA has a fantastic diverse range of young people from different backgrounds, religions, experiences, skills, cultures and ages. Burwood has young people coming from all over Sydney on a weekly basis. To come to school, work, shop or passing through the public transport system, this makes Burwood home to a large transient youth population.

For more information, scroll to the bottom of this screen to access flyers and promotional material or contact Burwood Council on 9911 9911.

Burwood Youth Advisory Group (BYAG)

Are you a young person aged 12-24 years who either lives, works, visits or studies in the Burwood area? Are you interested in having an impact on your community by working with other young people and learning some new skills? If yes, the Burwood Youth Advisory Group (BYAG) would love to have you on board! Working with Burwood Council, BYAG is a team of young people who organise fun community events and develop excellent leadership, team work, public speaking and event management skills.

We already have some exciting ideas for 2013 and would love to add some fresh faces to our team. If you would like to get involved and represent local youth, please send an email to the Burwood Council Youth Worker on youth@burwood.nsw.gov.au or call 9911 9911 for more information.

Also, ‘like’ us on Facebook to stay up to date with our activities!

Youth Week 2013

Do you like murder mysteries? How well do you think you know the Burwood area? Do you think you could out race others by solving murder mystery clues and racing the clock to solve a crime? If this sounds like you – the 2013 Youth Week event is for you! On Saturday 13th April, Burwood Council and the Burwood Youth Advisory Group will be hosting an AMAZING RACE around the Burwood area involving a number of obstacle courses, interactive problem solving and the use of your detective skills to be the first group to solve a crime. How to get involved? Registration is a must so If you and 3-4 friends are up for the challenge, you can contact the Burwood Council Youth Worker on: Phone: 9911 9911 Email: youth@burwood.nsw.gov.au .

Also, ‘like’ us on Facebook to stay up to date with our activities!

2012 – What a year

The local community has seen a wide variety of activities and creative projects which local young people have participated in. Below is a snapshot of what’s been happening in our area…

Rags to Riches

Let’s head back to the beginning of this year in late March, where Burwood Council had a celebration of Youth Week in partnership with Burwood Girls High School. Over 60 students who studied Textiles and Design were guided and mentored by fashion icon Rachael Cassar. Students used existing garments to create new fashion pieces, making a bold and positive statement about recycled clothing. There were over 150 community members that attended the fashion show, all who celebrated and commended the girls for their hard work and creative skills. You can check out the pictures of girl’s modelling their work on the right.

Burwood Youth Advisory Group – Training Day

Our annual Burwood Youth Advisory Group (BYAG) training day was held during the start of cold winter months – June. The day was facilitated by The Frank Team and ran through various topics such as project management, community engagement, volunteer’s right and responsibilities and leadership. Different activities were incorporated into these topics making it a fun and interactive day for all. Activities included; a team building game to create the tallest balloon tower, rapping off against two teams about BYAG, watching short films and using multi-media equipment. The BYAG team is now well equipped with many more skills and resources to support them in activities and events for the future.

Different People Different Voices Project – Launch

The busy month of June takes us to the launch of the Different People Different Voices Project (DPDVP). This project was lead by Burwood Council and was funded by the Federal Attorney’s General Department. A group of youth leaders, who came from different areas of the Inner West, worked in partnership with a number of organisations such as; Community Relations Commission, NSW Police Force, NSW - Community Contact Unit Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, Auburn Council and Metro Migrant Resource Centre. The project aimed to build cultural tolerance by developing two resources; the My Australia Our Australia board game and the Inner West Youth Services Map. The My Australia Our Australia board game encourages young people to discuss issues of cultural bullying, isolation and cultural intolerance. A pilot was held at several schools which provided us with an overwhelming positive response to this game. The Inner West Youth Services Map is a resource which young people can access for a range of youth services. The map includes services from accommodation, mental health to education and training. Young people living in the Inner West can access the Inner West Youth Services Map from their local councils.

Mini Sports Day

Burwood Council in partnership with Strathfield Council delivered a Mini Sports Day where young people were able to participate in three sports; oz tag, soccer and basketball. Due to the patchy rain on the day, basketball had to be cancelled, however soccer and oz tag carried on giving the young people valuable skills and tricks to use for those sports. As a final wrap up of the day, the group played one game of oz tag which brought out everyone’s fun and competitive side on the field.

Spring time – Burwood Festival

“Spring has put a spirit of youth in everything”- William Shakespeare Burwood Festival was a great way to celebrate the end of the cooler season and enjoy what will be a lovely Spring. There was a lot happening at the Burwood Festival from the Classic Car Shows to a wide variety of cultural foods, to performances from Timomatic, Georgia McCarthy from Young Talent Time and Lil’ Banditz Krew. BYAG coordinated the District Youth space at Festival, a space specifically designed for young people to enjoy! At District Youth, Big Air School showed the young and young at heart entertaining action sport shows which included stunts using skateboards, BMX and one-wheeled bikes. BYAG members ran other activities for young people which included a world-record challenge to fill as many balloons within a BMW hatchback, a horizontal bungee, canvas painting and ‘Take a Polaroid’ at Burwood Festival. It was a spectacular day that was filled with laughter and fun, in the sun!