Nominations for the 2022 WA Youth Awards are now open
The state's pre-eminent celebration of young people and the youth sector is now accepting nominations in 10 award categories, including:
🏆 The Minister for Youth's Most Outstanding Youth Worker Award
🏆 The Aboriginal Health Council of WA Positive Achievement Award
🏆 The Propel Youth Arts WA Creative Contribution Award
🏆 The Y WA Collective Action Award
🏆 The Youth Focus Sector Collaboration Award
🏆 The ECU Community Leadership Award
🏆 The Commissioner for Children and Young People Participate Award
🏆 The Youth Futures Innovation for a Sustainable Future Award
🏆 The Mission Australian Young Changemaker Award
🏆 The Charmaine Dragun Memorial Award
Winners each receive a $1,000 cash prize, and one young person will be crowned WA Young Person of the Year.
The WA Youth Awards take place on Friday 8 April at the WA Museum Boola Bardip to kick off Youth Week WA, with tickets going on sale in February.

Nominations close 11.59pm on Saturday, 5 March.

Workshops & events

Western Australian Multicultural Awards 2022

 The Western Australian Multicultural Awards 2022, administered by the Office of Multicultural Interests, will recognise individuals and organisations for their outstanding contributions to multiculturalism and culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities in Western Australia.

Nominations are now open, and can be made across 10 categories:

• Outstanding Individual Achievement Award
• Youth Award
• Community Organisation Award - CaLD and General
• Private Sector Award
• Local Government Award
• Arts Award
• Sportsperson of the Year Award
• Laksiri Jayasuriya Lifetime Community Service Award
• Sir Ronald Wilson Leadership Award
• Premier’s Community Response and Recovery Award

The WA Multicultural Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on Monday 14 March 2022 and launch Harmony Week 2022.

Nominations extended to 5pm on Friday, 4 February 2022. 

Youth Futures Summit

The Youth Futures Summit is a virtual event that brings together thousands of diverse people across multiple sectors and communities to re-imagine the biggest challenges and systems impacting young people, and the rest of Australia.

The Youth Futures Summit will:

• Draw together thousands of people from multiple sectors and communities that are reflective of the diversity of cultures, backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs that make up all of Australia
• Be co-presented, co-attended and shaped by young people
• Deep-dive into the challenges and identify what the solutions should be
• Explore a number of different areas from climate change, youth mental health, jobs for the future, diversity in Australia and more. 

When: 5 - 7 April 2022
Where: Virtual

Resources and Supports

What the Religious Discrimination Bill means for you

The proposed Religious Discrimination Bill was supposed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity (including having no religious belief or refusing to engage in religious activity) in certain areas of public life, such as employment, education and the provision of goods and services. But the Bill that has been drafted threatens to undermine inclusive workplaces, schools and access to services like healthcare without judgement. Laws which should protect religious people from discrimination will be used to hand a licence to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ people, women, people with disability, and others.

Find My Family - Afghanistan Crisis Assistance

The Australian Red Cross program Find My Family: Restoring Family Links (RFL) assists with tracing family members and finding missing loved ones. If you have lost contact with family as a result of the crisis in Afghanistan, please call the Red Cross hotline on 1800 875 199 between 5 AM to 1 PM or email tracing@redcross.org.au If your family member has been detained in Afghanistan, Red Cross can collect an enquiry but given the current situation, it cannot be followed immediately. Unfortunately, the Restoring Family Links team cannot provide support on the ground for people at risk in Afghanistan, and cannot register family or friends with whom you are currently in contact.

ServiceWA App Available to Download

The ServiceWA app is a FREE mobile application provided by the WA Government to help connect with WA State Government services. Initially the ServiceWA app aims to assist the community during the COVID-19 transition, and aims to expand to include other services into the future. It is designed for Australian residents or citizens who live in WA or are regularly visiting WA. Download the ServiceWA app, as the SafeWA app will eventually become outdated. There is also translated advice. The ServiceWA app allows you to activate and access the following WA Government services in one place:

• SafeWA –for individuals checking in at WA businesses, venues and events.
• Import COVID-19 digital certificate – for secure presentation of your proof of vaccination or exemption on demand.
• G2G Pass – to access your travel passes when you travel into WA.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine if you are not eligible for Medicare

Everyone 12 years and older can book a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is free for everyone, regardless of your visa status or Medicare eligibility. If you don’t have a Medicare card, or are not eligible for Medicare, you can get your free vaccination at a Commonwealth vaccination clinic, a state or territory vaccination clinic and community pharmacies that are administering COVID-19 vaccines. If you are not eligible for Medicare, GPs can still supply COVID-19 vaccines to you and the vaccine will be delivered free of charge. If you do not have a Medicare card, or are not eligible for Medicare, you can get proof of your COVID-19 vaccinations online. You can get an immunisation history statement which shows a record of all the vaccines you have had that are recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register. You can get a COVID-19 digital certificate which only shows your COVID-19 vaccinations. You will be able to see your digital certificate after you have had all required doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

National Coronavirus Helpline – CaLD priority service

A priority service within  the National Coronavirus Helpline has been established to ensure culturally and linguistically diverse people have access to relevant information and assistance with finding vaccine appointments. Helpline call agents can provide COVID-19 information and help callers book their vaccination appointment. Translated resources can be sent to callers after the call by SMS in their language. Culturally and linguistically diverse people seeking to access this service should contact Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS) National on 131 450 and ask to be connected to the National Coronavirus Helpline. You can reach the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080.

COVID health resources for WA's CaLD communities

WA Health has developed a range of video and social media tiles to promote COVID-safe behaviours and COVID vaccination to WA’s CALD communities. The resources feature WA healthcare workers and community leaders delivering COVID health messaging in English and in other languages.

The videos are available on the DoH Youtube channel.

The social media tiles and other resources are available on the Health WA website.

Opportunities

CARAD Job Opportunity: General Manager Position

 The Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) is looking for their next leader to work with their clients, team and partners to create a welcoming WA where people seeking asylum, refugees, and detainees are treated with compassion and are supported to rebuild their lives. The General Manager will join a dedicated and cohesive team in addition to an enabling and committed Management Committee and community of supporters in achieving a critical vision and purpose. This is an amazing opportunity to directly touch lives, to be inspired and achieve a positive influence on our community.

Applications close 5.00pm Sunday, 13 February.

Training and Employment Opportunities in the Food Industry for Women from Refugee and Migrant Backgrounds

The Occupational Specific Food Industry Training (OSFIT) for Women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and refugee and migrant backgrounds (CaLD) is an initiative of the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre (MMRC) and is now underway. OSFIT is designed to provide skills training and employment preparation specific to the Food Industry through new and innovative approaches and is free. The program aims to promote participation by the target cohort of women in a non-traditional male-dominated industry, providing a pathway to economic independence and diminishing the risk of long-term welfare dependence.

Recruitment for Cycle 2 ends on Tuesday, 2nd February 2022.

African Australian Youth Identities Survey

AfREC are interested in understanding how young people of African backgrounds (18-30 years old) negotiate their identities in Western Australia. 

They have just launched an anonymous online survey as the final part of their research study on African-Australian Youth: Navigating Identities. It is for African youth (18-30yrs) living in WA. The results will enable them to quantify some of the key issues and experiences. The survey is the result of the community’s desire to understand how young people of African backgrounds navigate and understand their identities. It takes around 15 minutes. On completion, the first 150 participants can enter a draw for a chance to win an Eftpos voucher valued at $500, $300, or $200. 

The survey will close at 5pm Friday, 4 February and prize winners will be notified shortly thereafter.

Financial Literacy for Refugee and Migrant Women

The Financial Literacy for Women course is designed to help you manage your money while living in Australia. It is a free tailored e-learning resource designed to support migrant and refugee women in managing their finances. The course is available in English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Hazaragi, Karen, Vietnamese, Thai, Punjabi, Nepali, Korean and Dari and covers: financial systems, earning an income, budgeting, money relationships.

COVID-19 Outbreak Preparedness Project

Researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute, Curtin University and University of Melbourne are collaborating with the WA Department of Health to better understand how COVID-19 can transmit within Western Australia and CaLD communities specifically. Using detailed contact surveys and statistical modelling, they want to learn how COVID-19 spreads through a community like yours. They require your help by taking part in a quick 20- minute survey. Having CaLD voices represented in this survey will provide valuable input into this research. 

Become a Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program Mentor

The Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program has been helping skilled newcomer professionals improve their employment potential by matching them with mentors from their industry or occupation. KMP is looking for mentors to join its mentoring program and coach highly skilled migrant professionals. If you are a professional, with at least two years' experience in your industry, and would like to help a newcomer to connect with their career, please apply to join the program. The next mentoring cycle runs from February to May 2022 and mentees and mentors will be matched during December 2021.

National Anti-Racism Framework

The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched a plan to develop a National Anti-Racism Framework. The Framework will be a long-term, central reference point to guide actions on anti-racism by government, NGOs, business, educators, health professionals, police, other justice authorities, civil society, and the community. A Commission Concept Paper provides an initial overview of the Framework’s key principles, outcomes and strategies. The Commission is working with all levels of Government, peak bodies, human rights agencies and community organisations to progress the Framework. The Commission is accepting public submissions on the Framework from 21 October to 4 February 2021. If you or your organisation would like to make a submission, please visit the Have your say page where you can complete the guided form or upload your submission.

MYAN WA e-News 
If you would like any of your events, programs, services, or projects that are relevant to refugee or migrant young people and the sector that supports them shared in the MYAN WA newsletters or Facebook page, please send it through to myanwa@yacwa.org.au

MYAN WA acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of this land. We are situated on the land of the Wadjuk people of the Noongar nation and pay our respects to their Elders: past, present and emerging.