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Minutes - Whittlesea Youth Advisory Committee 2020Meeting No. 4 2020Date: Monday 9th November 2020Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm Venue: Online via MS TeamsCommittee Members:Name of RepresentativePosition & Attendance Ms Peita Duncan – Administrator City of Whittlesea (She/Her)Co-Chairperson, PresentMr Bruce Billson – Administrator City of Whittlesea (He/Him)Administrator representative, Present Tabitha Anderson (She/Her)Co-Chairperson, PresentNarjas Al Bahrani(She/Her)ApologyAnnie Beard (They/Them)PresentSavhannah Brennan (She/Her)ApologyMiranda Coulson (She/Her)PresentElise Dow (She/Her)PresentChloe Falzon (She/Her)PresentBineet Gujral (He/Him)PresentZara Khan (She/Her)PresentKorra Koperu (She/Her)ApologyQueen Kury (She/Her)PresentSheriline Lay (She/Her)PresentJibreel Rafiq (He/Him)PresentAron Raward (He/Him)PresentTiffany Tournier (She/Her) PresentMinutes:Item Actions1Welcome & Opening of Meeting Acknowledgement and Welcome was provided by Ms Tabitha Anderson No action required.2. Statement of purpose and Whittlesea Youth Advisory Committee Charter Read by Ms Tabitha Anderson: The Whittlesea Youth Advisory Committee 2020’s purpose is to, advocate for and acknowledge the needs of young people who have a connection to the City of Whittlesea. As the Whittlesea youth representatives, we will ensure that we meaningfully consult and communicate with young people within our community for the purpose of gathering their thoughts and opinions on topics that affect them. We recognise the diversity of young people across the municipality and seek to represent all young people’s voices, experiences and needs. As a group we will work collaboratively and respectfully to progress towards a better future for all.The Whittlesea Youth Advisory Committee 2020 Committee Charter: We, the Whittlesea Youth Advisory Committee 2020 will:Encourage each other to share ideas and participate in meetings and Youth Advisory Committee activities. We will trust each other to make the right decisions. We will be open to everyone’s opinion and learning new things. We will be non-judgemental.We will create a caring environment while also caring for the environment. No action required. 3Apologies and introductions of invited guests/CoW staff. Apologies are recorded for the following people: YAC members: Korra Koperu, Savhannah Brennan & Narjas Al BahraniOther apologies are recorded from: Kate McCaughey, Director Community Wellbeing (Kate commenced in her role today and was unable to attend this meeting). CoW Staff in attendance: Wendy Castles - Manager Family, Children and Young PeopleRen Grayson - Team Leader Youth Services Liz Wyndham – Youth Development Officer Jansu Gaz – Youth Development Officer Emma Shelton – Youth Development OfficerAcknowledgement of invited guests: Min Jiang – Sustainability Planning Strategy Officer, Sustainability planningTracey Pahor – Pandemic Response Officer, Community Building and PlanningDean Marando & Zianeb – The Leaders of Tomorrow (The LOT), Whittlesea Community Connections. No action required.4Previous Minutes and Actions Administrator Duncan provided a recap of the discussions and actions from Meeting 3. See attached Actions Table for update on previous action items. See attached Actions Table for update on previous action items.5Attached reports: Youth Futures Summit: The Youth Futures Summit held from August 24th – August 28th was attended by Annie and Zara. The topics covered in the Summit included the future of work and young people’s transition to employment. A report on the key workshop themes and discussion points in the workshops attended by Annie and Zara were tabled in a summary report attached to the Minutes for all YAC members’ information and reference. Youth focus group report – 2020 Northern Partnership engagement program consultation workshopOn Wednesday 2nd September 20 Youth Advisory Committee Members from across northern metropolitan Melbourne participated in the 2020 Northern Partnerships engagement program. The purpose of the consultation was to advise the State Government on the impacts of COVID-19 on young people across the northern region. Sheriline, Elise and Queen represented the Whittlesea YAC at the workshop, their report on the event is submitted as an attachment for YAC members’ information and reference. Action: YAC members to read attached reports. 6. Guest presentation – Sustainability Planning; Climate Change Strategy, Min Jiang Sustainability Planning Strategy Officer. Presentation key points (See Attached slides in Attachments): In response to the YAC expressing concern about the level of E-Waste disposed in public during the COVID stage 4 restriction period, Min stated that the City of Whittlesea Waste Strategy is currently open for consultation, a link to the survey was provided for YAC members to complete. CoW is embarking on developing the City’s first Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (CCSAP). The purpose of the plan is to develop a roadmap to transition the CoW to a low carbon and climate resilient future. The CCSAP has three phases. Phase 1 – Developing the municipal plan, Phase 2 – Action planning, Phase 3 – Plan production and endorsement. CCSAP is currently in phase 1 undergoing the background research and municipal context which will underpin the plan. The community emissions profile has been completed and shows that 48% of emissions across the municipality is due to electricity consumption while another 28% of emissions are from on road transport. Waste accounts for only 3% of carbon emissions. Looking at the carbon reduction targets set down by the Paris agreement and the CoW level of carbon emissions, the CoW will need to reduce emissions by 4% annually to remain within the ‘emissions budget’ to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Stakeholder engagement and consultation activities – a Climate Survey will be available in December 2020 and YAC members are invited to complete this and encourage friends and family to complete it. Community workshops will be held in 2021 and YAC members are able to participate and assist in organising workshops. YAC members to complete CoW Waste Strategy survey: to circulate Climate Survey when available, YAC members to complete survey and circulate with friends and family. YAC members to consider engaging in community climate workshops in 2021. 7. Guest presentation Pandemic Response Team – experiences of young people during COVID response period – Tracey Pahor, Pandemic Response OfficerCouncil staff have been capturing information through a centralised system of recording reports of experiences. Every 2 weeks the Pandemic response team are putting out a community impact report, this can now be accessed externally. Connected community: young people are saying they have learnt new things and have played a role in supporting family members over COVID period. Young people reporting Zoom fatigue. Australian Institute of Family Studies found that young people were most likely to use the COVID time to learn new skills. Young people have also reported extra stressors. Schools and services were reporting long waitlists for mental health support. Teachers, as students returned to classrooms, were reporting young people disclosing concerning safety issues during lockdown. Liveable neighbourhoods: reports of young people accessing skate parks and running away from police when police were on community patrol. Concerns that there was a culture of young people being fearful of engaging with police and not seeing police as there to provide protection. Strong local economy: locally a lot of students who had been disengaged did return to schools. LLENS reporting concerns about VCAL students and the loss of ability to complete hands on learning and the impact this has on ability to complete units. TAFE is planning for mixed delivery next year. Have heard stories of students and families going without essentials in order to be able to pay for internet data. Unemployment rate 8.7%, but 19.7% for young people – Melbourne North East region, unemployment rate is this region is worse than that for the state average. Number of people on youth allowance has increased significantly. Hardest hit industries include retail, construction, food services and accommodation. Sustainable environment: Impacts of COVID on environment has been difficult to access. More cardboard waste due to more deliverables. It is predicted that there will be a big impact on roads and use of cars as people are likely to avoid public transport for some time over safety concerns.Actions: Liz to provide community impact report with Meeting Minutes. . 8. Guest Presentation – The Leaders of Tomorrow, Whittlesea Community Connections, Zianab and Dean Marando. The LOT has been working on identifying young people’s needs in City of Whittlesea, they are currently working on identifying the need for youth spaces. The LOT have met with Council representatives, State Members of Parliament, Victoria Police and community organisations to discuss the needs for young people to have access to youth spaces.The LOT members have completed over 50 consultations with young people across the City of Whittlesea, 95% felt there was the need for a dedicated youth space. The LOT queried whether the Baseline model had too much focus on being a space of service provision rather than general access. The LOT have visited other models such as Oxygen in Moreland and Darebin’s Youth Space at Northlands. The LOT also lso felt it was important for young people to have access to a space with IT resources to address issues with some families not being internet ready and posing an issue for young people’s access to education. YAC members discussed the need for the following to be considered in the design of any space accessed by young people: Spaces need to be explicitly inclusive with staff and agencies all using inclusive practices and language, not just putting up a Rainbow flag. Barista training would be a useful training program to occur at a youth space. Need to plan in accessibility, ensure there is sufficient physical spaces between furniture for wheelchairs and mobility aids. Don’t assume all young people want to sit in beanbags, they are not accessible for people with some disabilities. Queried whether spaces such as Lentil as Anything had been considered.Bogong Outdoor School was recommended for looking into engaging Architecture targeted at teenagers. Administrator Bilson queried whether consideration had been given to exploring a social enterprise model to be able to give young people employment ready programs. 9. Break. 10. Discussion topic: Young people’s connection to spaces and places in the City of WhittleseaKey discussion points: Young people want to feel safer in places such as shopping centres and parks. Worries about safety can be a factor in preventing young people from accessing active spaces in the parks in the community. Spaces for young people need to be explicitly inclusive. Young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences need to be involved in the planning and design of spaces from the outset. Spaces that include social enterprise and provide young people with access to work opportunities are a good idea. Spaces need to be designed so that young people have zoned spaces so that young people can be comfortable in a space without being perceived as having taken over and area and potentially perceived as a threat. The presence of PSO’s in groups at train stations can be intimidating, particularly for young people and young people with disabilities as some disabilities can present with jittery behaviour and low levels of eye contact and this can be perceived as suspicious by PSO’s and can invite scrutiny. Bineet presented the SPOT approach to designing spaces for young people – Social areas, Playful areas, Open (visible spaces), Township (spaces close to shops and transport) – see PDF of strategy attached to Minutes. Very important that youth spaces are close to public transport and are accessible to young people. Would be good to see stores such as Thrift shops in spaces for young people as they are popular with young people at the moment and can also address issues with fast fashion. Need to design outside spaces that engage playfulness and play in young people. Action: Prepare and circulate a survey to young people for the purpose of identifying what young people want in spaces in the City of Whittlesea. Survey responses are to be the foundation of a report to Council that recommends how to design spaces for young people. 11. Updates and other business EOI to extend YAC term of membership: Based on feedback from YAC members through the evaluation and review process, a Report has been prepared for Council reviewing the YAC Terms of Reference. In preparation for this, an Expression of Interest to continue on the YAC for a second term was circulated with all YAC members, responses from the EOI have been included in the Report to Council for consideration to extend membership of members who would like to continue for a second term. Youth Strategy: The State Government is currently holding consultation workshops with young people to inform the development of the State’s Youth Strategy. YAC members are encouraged to attend a session they feel is most relevant to them. City of Greater Dandenong Youth Leadership Forum: The Whittlesea YAC are invited to attend the City of Greater Dandenong’s Youth Leadership Forum on Thursday 26th November, see attached invitation End of year celebration – Liz to confirm whether this is able to occur in a COVID safe face to face setting or online, it will depend on ongoing advice from the State Government. Action: Liz to keep YAC members updated on the progress of the YAC Report to Council. Action: YAC members to consider attending a Youth Strategy workshop. Action: YAC members to let Liz know if they would like to attend the City of Greater Dandenong Youth Leadership Forum. Action: Liz to keep YAC updated on end of year celebrations. 12Meeting CloseAction Items from previous meetings: Item Meeting RaisedOutcome 1Youth Grants ProgramMeeting #1The Youth Grants program has been postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 response period. Action Completed2.Sub-committee working party to form to progress recommendations around physical activity in young people. Meeting #1Sub-committee was unable to meet as planned due to the Coronavirus restrictions and response. Follow-up discussions had during MS Teams training – need to decide on an action. Action Completed. 3. Youth Mental Health – Whittlesea YAC to meet with Whittlesea Youth Commitment representatives to discuss actions around Youth Mental HealthMeeting #1Liz spoke with WYC Convenor Mrs Kim Stadtmiller, WYC are keen to work with and support the Whittlesea YAC’s ideas – possibility of on online forum bringing together ideas floated around Mindfulness, Mental Health lived experience presentations, information about Action Completed – REAL TALK completed and supplied to schools who registered. 4.Liz to send out updates and invitations to YAC members to participate in upcoming events including: Community consultation and Media trainingRegional Youth Committee’s ForumParliament Open Day Youth Week eventMeeting #1All events and training have been cancelled/postponed due to COVID-19 response period. Consultation and community engagement planning scheduled for 2021 as part of YAC orientation program. Action Completed. 5. Physical Activity Actions:Update from Leisure regarding Physical Activity discussion points. Social Media campaign to encourage young people to be physically activeMeeting #1Action Completed - report was submitted from Leisure and Community Facilities Team. Action held over to 2021 to fit in with Active Whittlesea campaigns. 6. Young carers and young people with a disability Actions: YAC to gather information on the programs and supports available for young people who are young carers and young people who have a disability – and assess how these are currently advertised and how circulation could be improvedObtain feedback from CoW on planning and policies around accessible park and open spaces in the CoW. Seek feedback from CoW on the feasibility of including a new Award category of young person with a disabilityCoW to look at opportunities to increase social support spaces for young people who are young carers. Meeting #2 & Meeting #3Ongoing. CoW website is currently being updated with services and activities for people with a disability. Completed – see Minutes from Meeting 3. YAC members are scheduled to engage in a consultation session at the Mill Park All Abilities Playspace on Tuesday November 17th. Consultation and exchange of information occurred at Meeting 3, Action completed. Ongoing, Awards for Australia Day have been suspended for 2021 and a review of the Awards going forward will be undertaken. YAC members feedback will be part of the review process to look at the CoW Awards overall. Liz will provide an update in 2021, with the possibility of the YAC engaging in further consultation on this topic. Ongoing, Liz planning a Young Carers focus with the Access Team for 2021. 7. Climate Change Actions: The City of Whittlesea to support young people to create and run a clean energy and sustainability campaign focused at engaging young people and also with the aim of advocating for progress of sustainability and recycling initiatives to be progressed by the State Government. The City of Whittlesea to increase the number of community recycling spaces for recyclables such as e-waste and bread tags look at increasing the range of recycling drop-off options at the libraries. The City of Whittlesea to ensure that rental properties also have access to tip passes.Seek feedback on how information on recycling is distributed in languages other than English and how CoW notifies residents of how to access translated materials. Meeting #2 & #3Sustainability and environmental actions, programs and campaigns are ongoing through the Youth Environment Action Group. Action Completed. YAC feedback provided to Sustainability Planning and incorporated into Waste Strategy feedback. YAC members invited to participate in the Waste Management survey. Action completed. Feedback provided as part of consultation on Waste Management Strategy. Action completed. 8. Employment/Education/Training topic Meeting #3: Liz to forward Community Impact Survey to YAC members, YAC members to distribute survey through networks.Pandemic Response Team to be invited to Meeting 4 to provide a report on local data and the impact of COVID response on young people. Belgin to seek opportunity for YAC members to provide input into the Community Impact Survey questions. Completed. Completed, Pandemic Response Team invited to YAC Meeting #4. 9. Transition to adulthood – Meeting #3: CoW to look into the feesability of creating a Podcast covering transition to adulthood topics. CoW to provide feedback on the impact new estate builds in CoW have on housing pricesYouth Services in partnership with DPV have piloted an ‘Adulting for Beginners’ course based on feedback from the YAC, with a view to expanding this program in 2021 and including the potential for an Adulting podcast. Completed – statement provided from Community Building and Planning Department. ................
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