News

Out and About

The VFFF team loves getting out and about to see our granting partners in action and attend sector events. This quarter, we spent time visiting our partners and attending events focused on supporting young people and regional communities.

Building and sharing evidence for better outcomes for young people

How can nine disparate communities across Australia share ideas for effective approaches to tackle youth unemployment? Through the National Youth Employment Body (NYEB)’s two-day Community of Policy and Practice (CoPP) gathering, of course!

The NYEB was established by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in 2018 with the aim to facilitate collaborative efforts that enable young people to secure decent work. VFFF is working alongside the Paul Ramsay Foundation to support the NYEB model across nine sites.

In November, VFFF’s Senior Program Manager, Lynn Anderson, headed to Melbourne for the NYEB’s CoPP, along with community members from each of the nine sites. It was a jam-packed agenda, with plenty of ideas exchanged between the various Lead Partner organisations that implement the NYEB model in each of the sites.

Kate, Cherie and Amanda from the Logan-Beaudesert NYEB Community Investment Committee members

Lead Partners are youth employment specialists that are embedded in their local community and have experience working with young people who face multiple challenges to entering the world of work.

Also attending the CoPP were members of the Community Investment Committees (CIC) from each site. CICs are made up of local representatives from industry, youth skills and training organisations, as well as young people and the community at large. These CICs collaborate to build community-led solutions to youth unemployment, recognising that local solutions that align with local employer and industry demand, are often the most sustainable and effective.

The theme of this particular CoPP gathering was “Evidence Building for NYEB Practice and Advocacy”. It was pleasing to hear the evidence of achievements to date across the NYEB and see these outcomes shared and celebrated amongst attendees. Next step is using this evidence to advocate for improvements for young people across the national policy landscape. Watch this space!

Dr Shane Norrish and Melissa Higgins from Landcare Australia, with Kurt Jones from Co-Exist Australia and Lynn Anderson from VFFF

Voices of young people amplified at land conservation event

In October, VFFF joined young conservation leaders at the Australian Land Conservation Alliance’s annual Private Land Conservation conference (PLC24. This annual event is a critical forum for discussions and insights into scaling nature investment, reversing environmental decline, and meeting global and national biodiversity commitments.

VFFF was thrilled to see a half day workshop on the agenda, Future Leaders Forum: Get Ready to Lead the Change! which brought together passionate young people to brainstorm, innovate, and create solutions for today’s environmental challenges.

Facilitated by Landcare Australia, speakers included VFFF grant partner, Kurt Jones, CEO of Co-Exist Australia, along with Annette Cavanagh, Chair of Intrepid Landcare. There was a lot of energy and ideas in the room, as the importance of mobilising young people to get involved in the restoration and protection of nature is increasingly recognised.

VFFF is committed to advancing young-driven approaches to environmental challenges through supporting organisations like Co-Exist Australia, that are building communities of young people passionate about conservation.