Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN TAS) operating in partnership with the Migrant Resource Centre (Southern Tasmania) Inc, and Multicultural Youth (MY) Australia are asking young Tasmanians from migrant and refugee backgrounds to take part in the first ever national multicultural youth census.
Multicultural young people make up at least one-quarter of all Australian youth but very little is known about their needs. My Australia is conducting the first ever multicultural youth census to give multicultural young people a voice. The census aims to find out more about Australia’s multicultural young people, what they value and their vision for the future.
Australia’s young people today are more mobile and culturally diverse than ever before. While this brings many advantages, multicultural young people face challenges that are not well understood by the community or government – such as discrimination, intergenerational conflict and economic insecurity.
Migrant Resource Centre (Southern Tasmania) Youth Program Team Leader and MYAN TAS spokesperson, Sally Thompson says it’s important that Tasmania’s multicultural youth are accurately represented in the census data. “We need organisations that work with young people to help promote the survey, talk to their networks of young people about the survey and why it is important and support them to fill out the survey. The census will be vital for understanding how multicultural young people can contribute to building stronger communities, both in Tasmania and nationally.”
The census asks about economic, social and cultural indicators to learn how young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds are faring in life. The census is an online survey that takes 20 minutes to complete and is available at www.multiculturalyouth.net.
The census data will be used to produce the first annual report on the status of multicultural youth in Australia. The report will be distributed to policymakers at all levels of government, youth organisations, community groups and education providers to help improve settlement outcomes and social cohesion for multicultural young people.
The census is a research collaboration between the University of Melbourne, MYAN TAS and seven other youth organisations and government agencies around Australia. The research is funded by the Australian Research Council.
Tahlia Hart, Communications Officer – Migrant Resource Centre (Southern Tasmania) Inc.
