Summary Report of the Day
Fourteen young people from different cultural backgrounds and schools,
came together for over three and a half hours on Sunday, the 8th
June 2003 for the first of three Introductory Sessions of the Parra Youth
Matters
(PYM) Youth Jury project. This first session provided the Youth Jurors
with the opportunity to meet the other young people they will be
working with. Three girls could not make this first session due to sporting
commitments
or because they were not feeling well.
All the Jurors made contributions
throughout the day that demonstrated their maturity and range of
experiences. Everyone listened to each
other and showed respect for different views, which was a great sign
considering it is only early days of the whole Youth Jury Process.
There was
a lot
of enthusiasm and goodwill in the group. This disproves the unjust
belief that young people have nothing to say and do not care about
their community.
The Youth Jurors are not ‘super special’ or ‘different’ from
all other young people; rather they are reflections of the true voices,
beliefs and feelings of this generation.
At about 12:15 the fourteen
Jurors for the day had arrived. Although promised food at 12, it
did not arrive until 12:40, but everyone
just used this opportunity to begin to get to know one another. After
a few brief
conversations had taken place between the Jurors they were officially
welcomed by the PYM Team.
The Jurors were told how they were randomly
selected to take part out of the seventy-two young people who applied.
They were selected
because they showed an interest in wanting to help their community
and work with
other young people to achieve this goal – not because of their grades
or previous experience. In total there are 4 males and 13 females
as Jurors. This ratio reflects the fact that about twice as many
females as males
applied to the Youth Jury. However this did not stop the group working
together well.
After playing a quick ice-breaker activity the Jurors
wrote down their initial thoughts and feelings about the Youth Jury
process before it begins. Then the Jurors separated into three small
groups and shared
what experiences of cultural diversity they have had. These small
group sessions really aimed at allowing the Jurors and the PYM Team
to get to
know one another better and build up trust. After some discussion
had taken place, the Jurors individually wrote down one or two key
issues that they
think are an important part of cultural diversity in Parramatta.
The small groups then came back together and formed a large group again
and shared with one another their issues. Each Juror talked
about their issue and all Jurors added extra thoughts to issues raised
so that
everyone had the opportunity to comment. After each Juror spoke about
their issue they placed it up on the wall, next to other similar
issues. By the
end of the discussion the Jurors had reached a number of groups of
issues.
Following this large group discussion, the Jurors had a break
and then divided into three small groups again. They talked more
about the role of the Jurors, and then came up with some principles
and guidelines they believe the Jurors should follow to help create an
atmosphere of respect
and support between everyone. The individual groups then came together
and presented their ideas to the large group. A fair bit of overlap
between the principles was seen. Unfortunately there was not enough
time
for the
group to reach a final agreement, and this will be reached in the
second introductory session.
The day had run about 15 minutes overtime
by this stage, so the Jurors did not have time to write down what
they liked and didn’t like about
the day. They were given the form to fill out at home, and were told
about the online discussion forum to be set up for the Jurors, and
thanked for
coming.
From what the PYM Team was told by some Jurors, the first
Introductory Session was a worthwhile initiative and they left the
day feeling
like they had made a good start. Each young person had something
so unique to
express and expressed it with such passion and strength of character.
This puts to silence those who claim that young people don’t know
how to express their feelings in a mature, creative and intelligent
manner. Well done to you all guys and girls!
Agenda
12:00 – 12:30 Lunch and welcome.
12:30 – 12:45 Icebreaker activity.
12:45 – 12:55 Pre-Questionnaire.
12:55 – 1:35 Discussing Issues (Small Groups).
1:35 – 2:05 Discussing Issues (Large Groups).
2:05 – 2:20 Break.
2:20 – 2:50 Roles and Expectations (Small Groups).
2:50 – 3:20 Roles and Expectations (Large Group).
3:20 – 3:30 Debrief.
3:30 – 3:50 Evaluation and Reflection and Food.
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