Strengthening the national voice on multicultural youth issues with a new network and research

The National Multicultural Youth Issues Network was established to ensure a strong voice on multicultural youth issues at the national level. The same year that it was established, the Federal Children and Youth Affairs portfolio was abolished, making the need for a national advocacy voice on multicultural youth issues to government even more critical at this time. CMY’s role as lead provider of a national network of service providers delivering the Newly Arrived Youth Settlement Service (NYASS) provided an opportunity to leverage off this network to create a national advocacy body.

CMYI worked with the members across the country to establish a strong foundation for the organisation, and the NMYIN began making its mark on the national policy landscape, contributing policy submissions on relevant issues. The ability of CMYI to consult with members of NMYIN to inform the development of two national papers commissioned by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (Multicultural Youth in Australia: Settlement and Transition and Working with Multicultural Youth – programs, strategies and future directions) highlighted the advantage of having a national network to draw on in developing knowledge about multicultural youth issues on a national level.

In 2009, the Federal Government recognised the value of the network by providing funding for CMY to undertake capacity building work across the country, resulting in the establishment of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN).