The new millennium saw EYIN adopt a new name – the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues. This change reflected the developing priorities of the organisation and a broader shift in the use of language around issues of culture and diversity. Moving away from the use of the term ‘ethnic’, which had been used to broadly describe anyone of a non-Anglo cultural background, the new title adopted the more inclusive language of multiculturalism.
2000s
Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues
2000
EYIN Becomes CMYI
2000
EYIN relaunches as CMYI
2000
Strengthening young people’s participation
Youth Leadership group in Geelong, 2003
2000
Strengthening young people’s participation
While CMYI’s commitment to ensuring that young people’s perspectives were a driving influence of the work of the organisation since its inception, the 2000s saw the organisation refine and strengthen its capacity to support young people’s participation in a range of new initiatives and programs. Young people expressed their views, developed their skills, shaped outcomes, pursued their interests and took up leadership roles in a myriad of ways.
2000
Young people’s connectedness to family
2000
Supporting young people’s connectedness to family
In 2000, CMYI piloted Reconnect Young Refugees (RYR), applying their expertise to tailor an existing early intervention program for young people at risk of youth homelessness to specifically meet the needs of refugee young people. Again, CMYI had successfully advocated for the need for an augmented version of a mainstream program to meet the needs of refugee young people. This unique model considered young people in the context of their family and community, and their migration and settlement experiences. Through the Reconnect Program, CMYI (and later as CMY) have continued to provide early intervention support to young people at risk of homelessness up to the current day through a mix of individual case management and group programs, in close collaboration with schools and in some of Melbourne’s most diverse and fastest growing areas.
2003
Development of YRIPP
YRIPP Volunteers at End of Year Volunteer Event
2003
Facilitating complex partnerships to address a need in youth justice – the development of the Youth Referral and Independent Persons Program
In working with the Children’s Court of Victoria, CMYI became aware that young people’s rights were being compromised and legal processes were failing because of a lack of support at the point of police interview. CMYI worked, over several years, to develop a significant and unique partnership with key youth, community legal and government stakeholders as well as Victoria Police to trial the Youth Referral and Independent Persons Program (YRIPP). What began as a small pilot in 2003 now operates state-wide, providing culturally competent, volunteer independent persons to support around three thousand young people per year through their police interviews and provide linkages to broader supports.
2003
Innovative education programs
2003
Developing innovative education support programs for refugee and newly arrived young people
In 2003, CMYI worked toward their long-standing commitment to ensuring equitable access to education for all young people through a fresh focus on the education of newly arrived refugee young people as CMYI collaborated with a range of key stakeholders to develop the Refugee Education Partnership Project. The Project, which commenced in 2004, was another example of the value that CMYI placed on working in partnership and sought to advocate for a more coordinated system across community, education and government sectors to enhance the well-being and educational achievements of students of refugee background.
Educator assisting young person in a classroom
2005
Support for newly arrived people
2005
Expanding specialised settlement support to refugee and newly arrived young people
Having provided advice to the Federal Government on the design of a national program to provide newly arrived young people with settlement support, CMYI was well placed to become the Lead Provider when, in 2005, the Newly Arrived Youth Settlement Service (NAYSS) was funded as a national initiative. Offering a mixture of individual casework, family support, and group work, NYASS staff worked closely with the Reconnect Young Refugees Program staff, boosting the capacity of CMYI to offer direct settlement support to young people who were newly arrived. As the Lead Provider, CMYI was drawing on its experience to support the development of good practice in other states and territories through the program. This work would soon be built upon when in 2008, the organisation was funded to deliver the Complex Case Support program as a specialised and intensive case management service for humanitarian entrants with complex needs.
CMYI Newly Arrived Youth Support Service (NAYSS) Self Evaluation Report
2005
Human rights, diversity and participation
2005
CMYI launches its guiding principles – human rights, diversity and participation
In 2005, CMYI launched its guiding principles, a reflection of the core values that the organisation had developed over time and providing a focus to the approach of the organisation moving forward. These were Human Rights, Diversity and Participation.
Human Rights: CMYI believes that upholding and promoting the human rights of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds is fundamental to a fair and equitable Australian society.
Diversity: CMYI is committed to diversity through encouraging and supporting inclusiveness, recognition and respect of difference in all its forms, freedom of expression, maintenance and sharing of cultural knowledge and practice and a commitment to access and equity. CMYI believes that the philosophy of multiculturalism underpins, strengthens and promotes this diversity.
Participation: CMYI believes that a socially just society relies on all members of the community having the right and opportunity to participate in community life, decision-making and access to resources.
2006
Strengthening the national voice
2006
Strengthening the national voice on multicultural youth issues with a new network and research
The value of a national network to advocate on multicultural youth issues had been made clear through the experience of delivering the Newly Arrived Youth Support Service. Youth sector representatives from each of the states and territories came together to work with CMYI to establish the National Multicultural Youth Issues Network (NMYIN) in 2006. As convenor of the group, CMYI drew on their experience as a multicultural youth peak organisation to resource the network and support its development. This same year, CMYI drew on the newly established NMYIN to develop two national research papers, commissioned by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth and launched in 2007, making a significant contribution to the national landscape of research on the diverse needs of young people of newly arrived, refugee and second-generation migrant background, and more broadly on programs, strategies and future directions for working with multicultural young people.
2006
Connections with young African people
2006
Cultivating connections and understanding with African young people and their families
Sparked by meetings with the Sudanese community, youth services and other community organisations in the City of Greater Dandenong, CMY worked in collaboration with a broad range of community partners to develop the African Youth and Family Project in 2006 to respond to issues that Sudanese young people were experiencing. Driven by a Youth Advisory Committee of young people of African background, and supported by a reference group of local services, the program followed an action research model to address issues young people and workers identified such as education, justice, family relationships and community connectedness.
The back cover of the African youth and family project report
2007
Building capacity in Victoria
2007
Building capacity across Victoria to respond to, empower and engage young people from refugee and culturally diverse backgrounds
The early to mid 2000s saw CMYI begin to strengthen and expand their work in capacity building in local communities and services. CMYI resourced services at a state-wide level by establishing the Statewide Multicultural Youth Issues Network in 2001. Responding to shifts in settlement patterns by newly arrived and refugee young people, CMYI also worked at a targeted, community level with local governments and other service providers to address service gaps and strengthen their capacity to work effectively with refugee and newly arrived young people and their families.
Cover of the Inclusive Local Government guide for best practice when engaging with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
2007
Refugee young people's educational support
2007
Bolstering educational support for refugee young people
From 2007, CMY’s work in supporting the education of refugee and newly arrived young people grew and expanded with the development of new, innovative programs. With support from the Victorian Education Department, CMY worked in partnership with local services, schools and local communities to deliver a range of programs that built on their growing expertise in the needs of newly arrived refugee young people, families and schools to support student achievement, wellbeing and connectedness. Education support programs remain a significant component of CMY’s programs today.
Student receiving homework support
2008
Achieving independence
2008
Achieving independence and expanding reach
In 2008, CMYI made the significant step to becoming an independent incorporated organisation and marked this new status with a subtle change in name to the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY). By this time, the organisation had developed in structure sufficiently to stand alone and it’s new legal status allowed the organisation to access philanthropic funding, opening up new opportunities for growth and partnerships.
Having enjoyed almost 10 years of auspice support from the Australian Multicultural Foundation, CMY continued this close relationship with AMF Executive Director Dr. Hass Dellal OAM assuming the responsibilities of the chair of the newly established Board of Governance. This milestone was reached on CMY’s 20th birthday, providing further reason for celebration, with a 20th Anniversary history launched at Parliament House and an exhibition of posters at the Immigration Museum showcasing CMYs work with young people. By this time, CMY had expanded to a staff team of over 50 people with offices in Broadmeadows, Carlton, Dandenong and Sunshine.
Carmel Guerra, Minister James Merlino, Hass Dellal and young people at the launch of the CMY 20th Anniversary event
2009
Research partnerships
2009
Partnerships to generate new research and evidence
In a further extension of CMY’s ongoing commitment to building a strong evidence base to inform the development of its programs, policy and advocacy work, CMY actively forged links with research centres and tertiary institutions. The objective was to systematically develop the formal evidence on issues facing multicultural young people, as well as develop a stronger understanding of new and emerging issues. The investment in research partnerships culminated in 2009 with CMY participating in three major research projects with various universities and other organisations as a Partner Investigator funded under the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. CMY has an ongoing commitment to working in partnership with research institutions to further the development of a strong evidence base on issues of importance to migrant and refugee young people, to be courageous in pursuing challenging.
The 'Multicultural Youth Australia Census Status Report' 2017-2018 was one of the groundbreaking pieces of research to stem from a research partnership with CMY.
2009
MYAN is established
2009
A funded Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network secures national reach and advocacy
After the National Youth Advocacy Network had operated as an unfunded body convened by CMY for three years, 2009 saw the Federal Government provide funding to CMY to facilitate the establishment of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network. CMY would auspice the network and foster the development of bodies in each of the states and territories which are represented on a National Governance Committee.
Today, the presence of MYAN offers a strong voice on multicultural youth issues at the national policy level. MYAN also builds the capacity of both policy makers and service providers to best meet the needs of migrant and refugee young people at the national level, engaged in the international arena through United Nations and other international humanitarian and refugee bodies, and supports the development of young people’s leadership skills and networks to create change.
MYAN, National Multicultural Youth Summit (2019)
2009
International Collaborations
2009
Reaching beyond boarders with international collaborations
With the operation of MYAN leading to a strengthened national presence, CMY discovered new opportunities for collaboration at the international level. During 2009 and 2010, CMY supported young people to make recommendations to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), provided advice to the International Organisation for Migration to strengthen the orientation of young refugees before they come to Australia and was represented by CEO Carmel Guerra at the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. CMY also embarked on a new project connecting young people who had settled in Australia with peers from their homelands.
Carmel Guerra with the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres. Photographer: Shane Bell.
2010
CMY’s inaugural Patron in Chief
2010
Her Excellency Dame Quentin Bryce AC, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia becomes CMY’s Patron in Chief
In 2010, Her Excellency Dame Quentin Bryce, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, accepted an invitation to be CMY’s inaugural Patron in Chief. In her role, she celebrated the achievements of young people involved in CMY and was informed by young people and staff about the issues of importance to migrant and refugee young people and lent her support to the work of the organisation.
