Young people lead the way in Craigieburn
An innovative new series of youth programs will commence on 18 October at the new Connections@Craigieburn centre.
'These programs are designed and run by young people, for young people,' said the Brotherhood of St Laurence's Youth Community Development Broker Benjamin Falcone-Mayo. 'We had a number of conversations with young people about the kinds of programs they'd love to see here in Craigieburn. We then worked together to develop those ideas into the programs that started this week.
'The courses are run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, and have been funded through a partnership between the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Job Link, The Salvation Army Crossroads and Dianella Community Health.
The new series includes podcasting workshops, art workshops, 'Screen Time' which focuses on watching and reviewing movies, a social support group 'Life Connections' and the Craigieburn Social Changemakers course for young people wanting to take a leadership role in their community.'
These new programs complement the Brotherhood's Youth Transitions Program and weekly Job Club, which focus on work and future plans, and offer young people the chance to think, do and create,' said Mr Falcone-Mayo.
'We are also really pleased to have been able to offer facilitation roles to the local young people involved in designing the programs, so they have opportunity to see their ideas come to life as well as gaining some work experience,' said Mr Falcone-Mayo.
Eighteen year old Adam Doorbar and twenty year old Dan Borrelli created the Screen Time program as part of their Youth Work studies, and are thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver the program as part of the series.
'We wanted to create something that would engage young people, and that would give them skills in relation to the music and entertainment industry,' said Mr Doorbar. 'There's nothing like this in Craigieburn at the moment and we hope this will help give young people the knowledge and skills to pursue a career in the industry.'