Young People, Culture and Connection

Why this matters

Young people carry the future of community. YouthScape is intended to connect them with culture, Country, opportunity and support while recognising the pressures they may be navigating.

Cultural participation should not be treated as an optional addition. It can contribute to belonging, confidence, prevention and longer-term wellbeing.

Young people do not experience education, family, culture, health, transport and opportunity as separate systems. A difficulty in one area can affect participation in another. A program that focuses on only one category may miss the relationships and practical conditions that help a young person feel safe enough to take part.

This report sets out a direction for YouthScape rather than a claim about completed delivery. Activities, participation and outcomes should be reported only after they have occurred and the information has been checked. The immediate responsibility is to build a program approach that young people and community can shape before success is defined on their behalf.

Culture and belonging at the centre

Culture can provide connection to identity, family, community and Country. The way that connection is expressed will differ between young people and places. YouthScape should not reduce culture to a single activity or assume that every participant begins with the same knowledge, confidence or relationships.

Cultural content should be guided by people with the right community authority and knowledge. Elders, cultural leaders, families and local organisations may have different roles depending on the activity and location. Their involvement should be invited respectfully, planned properly and supported rather than treated as a last-minute addition to a program timetable.

Belonging also depends on the everyday experience of the program. Young people should know who will be there, what will happen, how to ask for support and whether they can bring someone they trust. Staff behaviour, transport, food, timing and the physical setting can all affect whether a culturally grounded activity feels genuinely welcoming.

Young people should help shape the program

Participation in design means more than asking young people to choose from activities already decided. They should have opportunities to describe what matters, identify barriers, suggest formats and respond to what is proposed. Different ways to contribute are needed so that the loudest or most confident voices do not become the only source of direction.

The purpose and limits of participation should be clear. If a decision is constrained by safety, funding, staffing or cultural authority, staff should explain that rather than implying every suggestion can be adopted. Reporting back on what changed, what did not and why shows that the contribution was considered seriously.

Youth participation requires appropriate consent, privacy and safeguarding. A young person’s agreement to join an activity does not automatically permit photographs, public stories, future marketing or contact through every channel. Each use should have a clear purpose and the permission required for that person’s age and circumstances.

Principles for the program

These principles describe the standard YouthScape should work towards. They are a basis for planning and later evaluation, not evidence that each feature has already been delivered. IRAAC should test them with young people, families and people holding relevant cultural and safeguarding responsibilities.

The principles also need to be visible in ordinary program decisions. A commitment to access should influence location and transport. A commitment to youth voice should influence planning and review. A commitment to privacy should influence records, photographs, communication and public reporting.

• Young people should help shape the activities intended for them.
• Culture and community relationships should sit at the centre of delivery.
• Participation should be welcoming and practical to access.
• Families and trusted adults should be involved appropriately.
• Public reporting should distinguish planned activity from verified outcomes.

Making participation practical

A program can be appealing and still be inaccessible. IRAAC should consider how young people will travel, whether timing fits school, work and family responsibilities, what the activity costs to attend and how information reaches people who are not already connected to the organisation. A transport plan should be part of program design rather than an afterthought.

Registration should collect only what is needed for safe delivery. Staff should explain who can see the information, how it will be used and how a participant or parent or carer can update it. Where online registration creates a barrier, an assisted or face-to-face option should remain available.

The program should also plan for different communication, mobility, sensory and support needs. Asking early allows staff to make reasonable arrangements without placing the burden on the young person at the door. A participant should know who to contact privately if something changes or they have a concern.

Safety, trust and the role of adults

Trusted adults can support participation, but their role should be clear. Depending on the activity, families, carers, Elders, mentors and workers may help with consent, transport, cultural guidance or wellbeing. Young people should still be listened to directly and treated with respect for their developing independence.

Staff and volunteers need defined responsibilities, appropriate checks, safe conduct expectations and a clear response process for concerns. Participants should be told in plain language what behaviour is expected and how to get help. Safeguarding should be built into supervision, transport, digital communication, photography and off-site activities.

Trust grows through consistency. Staff should do what they say they will do, avoid promises they cannot keep and explain changes early. If a young person is referred to another service, the handover should be supported where consent allows, and the participant should not be left to navigate an unfamiliar system without a clear next step.

Connecting activities to opportunity

Opportunity can include cultural learning, education, training, creative work, sport, leadership, employment exposure, mentoring and community contribution. YouthScape should avoid treating one pathway as the definition of success. The useful question is whether the program helps a young person move towards an opportunity they value with the support needed to participate.

Activities should have a clear purpose while leaving room for relationships to develop. A workshop may teach a skill, but it can also provide a safe introduction to mentors or services. Staff should not overstate these secondary benefits. They should record what was offered, what participants chose and what follow-up was agreed.

Partnerships may broaden opportunity, but every partner should understand the program’s cultural, privacy and safeguarding expectations. Young people should know when an external organisation is involved and what information, if any, will be shared. A partnership name on a flyer is not evidence that participants received a lasting outcome.

What IRAAC needs to learn next

Future reports should describe the age groups reached, activities delivered, participation, feedback and outcomes only after those details have been confirmed. Young people’s privacy and consent must remain central to any public story.

IRAAC first needs to hear from young people about what would make YouthScape relevant and safe. It should also ask families, cultural authorities and local organisations where coordination is needed and what existing work should be respected rather than duplicated. The listening process should include people who may not attend a formal meeting.

Program learning should separate reach, experience and outcome. Reach describes who participated in de-identified terms. Experience describes whether people felt welcomed, understood the activity and would change anything. Outcome describes a verified change linked carefully to the program. These measures answer different questions and should not be combined into one success figure.

Future reports should include difficulties as well as progress. Low attendance, transport problems, activities that did not fit or feedback that challenges the original plan can all improve the program when reported honestly. Public detail must remain proportionate so that a small group or individual cannot be identified indirectly.

A responsible approach to measuring progress

Measures should help IRAAC improve decisions, not place unnecessary reporting work on participants. A short feedback conversation may be more suitable than a long form. Young people should be able to take part in an activity without agreeing to promotion or evaluation beyond what is needed for safe delivery.

The next report should state which measures were actually used and where the evidence remains incomplete. This will allow community to see YouthScape develop over time without turning an early program direction into a claim of demonstrated impact.

• Record planned and delivered activities separately.
• Use checked, de-identified participation figures with clear date ranges.
• Ask young people what was useful and what should change through voluntary feedback.
• Track agreed follow-up without publishing personal support needs.
• Confirm any partner contribution before describing it publicly.
• Treat photographs and personal stories as optional, separately consented material rather than proof of impact.