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Diane Tomlyn

A youth and community worker in Loughborough and student at De Montfort University passed away after battling with cancer for 7 months. As a recognition of her work, she was awarded a Dip HE by the University. Course Leader Mary Tyler praised Diane's humbling and committed attitude. Tribute...

A new online service has been launched for youth work recruitment. The site, youthworkjobs.co.uk, specialises in matching employers with youth workers. The beauty of the site is that it tries to cater for those workers who may just want short term projects in equal measure to those who want a full time, permanent job. Find out more about them, and register free for their services at: http://youthworkjobs.co.uk. 

Recruitment News #2

Its that time of year again when the third years are about to finish and go into the world of full time, professional youth and community work. Starting on the site next month, we'll be shadowing workers and visiting projects to report on the diverse range of opportunities available to graduates. If you think your project would like to be featured in our series, please contact us. 

Survival of the Fittest?

We've had an email from Matthew Smith, a field practice student in Leicester. He writes: 

I am currently doing a field placement working with people with mental health problems. During which I have come across a structural oppression faced by these people everyday. Recently the government has said if you are unemployed and fit prescription charges are free, however if you are on incapacity benefit and ill they are not. Talk about hitting somebody when they are down! Many of the people I am currently working with are paying for one or more types of medication. They rely on it to keep them out of hospital. This is a structural oppression and only the government holds the key to its solution. It seems to me the government are in support of the big drug companies. It is pretty nasty of them to charge the ill in order to make more profits. If you have any views on this issue please e-mail me as I am doing a case study on this issue. You can contact Matthew on youthworkcentral@yahoo.co.uk.

Creative Expressions

National Youth Work and Policy News 

Connexions have launched an advertising campaign for 13-19 year olds, stating that 'there is someone to listen'. It will feature on radio and bill board campaigns. More...

The National Youth Agency has produced its annual 'Volunteer Action' celebrating the contribution young people make to their communities. To order free copies (in multiples of 50) contact Carolyn Oldfield on 0116 285 3790 or email carolyno@nya.org.uk.

Society Roundup  

The Observer produced an excellent supplement on adult drug misuse in Britain. If you missed, there is an online version at http://www.observer.co.uk/drugs 

The Journals 

Young People Now (Subs 22.80 from NYA publications) takes up the issue of recruitment, suggesting that better regulations are needed to weed out poor youth workers. A careers consultant suggests that youth workers are 'missing a trick' by not recruiting gap year students, and there is a report into the ethical issue of parental permission.

Youth and Policy (Subs 25.00 from NYA Publications) has articles that look at the privatization of the youth service in the UK; non participation amongst 'minority ethnic' young people in the new deal; an ethnography of youth work in Australia and suggestions for policies relating to vulnerable young people.

Shabaab (Subs 5.00 from NYA Publications) looks at the aftermath of the disturbances last summer and investigates why young people's voices are being ignored in the debate on citizenship. 

In Student Youth Work Online 

Citizenship is in the political dialogue again as teachers prepare to deliver the subject in schools. In the first of our investigations about the subject, Jason Wood and Shahid Ashrif present essays exploring the problems and hopes for future citizenship.

Student Youth Work Online is expanding with more visitors every day. In response to a growing readership, we need contributions! Its really hard keeping the site fresh and up to date (a one person job) so, please, please, lend us your time and energy by donating an essay or telling us about your work.  How to do this...

youth work news

The NYA has breaking news and information about the development, implementation and progress of Connexions, together with policy news and suggestions - ideal for us who are confused by the whole thing. More...

Also from the NYA worth mentioning is their online resources catalogue which has now been uploaded. No more tiresome trawls through countless library records; this is just the job for the student who needs a rundown and brief of books, articles and some nifty reading lists. More...

Rhys Evans and his News from Everywhere column continues to provide consistently good, thought-provoking discussion on a range of current affairs and social issues. You can subscribe to NfE and visit their site regularly for commentary. More...

David Blunkett has announced 20 million to 'improve standards' in the youth service. It will be used to extend partnership work and extend local services amongst other things. More...

Jump to: National Youth Agency | UK Youth | Our Links Page | News from Everywhere

publications

This month's Young People Now looks at how young people and youth workers are taking a local and global response to social issues such as prostitution, foot and mouth, drug addiction and racial tension. Nice. There are also two articles surrounding the training of youth and community workers; "we are trained to be jacks of all trades - when we should masters of a few..." Oh my!

The latest issue of Shabaab takes a look at the dispersion of young asylum seekers and how they have responded to continued racism, upheaval and neglect.

Jump to: National Youth Agency Publications

society news

Some of last week's society news from The Guardian:

PUBLIC SERVICES ARE FAILING - BLAIR SCRAPS REPORT

TORIES/LABOUR/LIB DEM? WHAT ARE THEIR PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR?

CHARITIES ARE SLOW TO TAKE UP COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET

STUDENTS AREN'T INVOLVED IN VOTING THEIR POLITICIANS

News from Downing Street:

130 MILLION QUID TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEERING

1 MILLION INDIVIDUAL LEARNING ACCOUNTS ACHIEVED A YEAR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE 

Please report any dead links using the email above.

Jump to: The Guardian | 10 Downing Street

developments @ the site

The comment and analysis section of the site is now alive and ready. Read contributions by Shahid Ashrif and Jason Wood or add your own comments about the news.

Follow the election in real time at Student Youth Work Online. At the bottom of our home page is a collection of news articles collected as they come through and all related to politics. 

New essays are being posted on the site all the time. Make sure that you get a read of new material from Jay Patel, Jason Wood and Shahid Ashrif. We are keen to get other people to submit their papers as well. Just see our contributions section for more information.

Also, our new features are coming together nicely. Thanks for all of you who have signed up for profiles, (er...Eeyore get some more names to do it...JW), but we still want more people!!! Check the profiles section of the site for more details. 

We are also looking for kind hearted souls who would like to help us do a little promotion volunteering in September 2001. PLEASE help! Send us an email and Jason will give you a t-shirt or some chocolate or something...

Youth Work is to be formally placed at the heart of the new Connexions Service according to Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Lifelong Learning. A new consultation document has been released on the future of youth work. A copy of the document, entitled Transforming Youth Work can be obtained here. For Wicks' statement about young people, Connexions, and volunteering - see the NYA news site.

The NYA have produced a Statement of Principles on Ethical Conduct for youth work. This document follows two years of consultation and lays out the general principles of youth work. To get your free copy, visit the site, or email sales@nya.org.uk.

The governments' new Children and Young People's Unit has launched its plans for developing a new strategy for young people's participation in society. For more information, and to get a copy of the paper Tomorrow's Future - visit their site here.

YouthOrg UK is fast becoming a minefield of information and connections. Its membership (of which SYWO is a part of) is growing, with web sites and contact details for loads of youth work organisations, locally and nationally based. This, together with links, discussion groups and a bulletin board provide an excellent web resource for workers. Visit the site here.

^{Week Commencing: Monday 2nd April 2001}

• TELEVISION THIS WEEK 

Overall a quiet week in television analysis and programs that could benefit workers. A week devoted to new artists will be on BBC 2 every night, but that's about it really...

02/04 MONDAY: CH4 (8.00pm) SCIENCE & THE SWASTIKA - Examines the sinister role of doctors during Nazi rule in Germany. 

03/04 TUESDAY: CH4 (9.00pm) VICTORIANS UNCOVERED - A look at Victorian times, those classic values - just in case you ever thought we should return to them...

04/04 WEDNESDAY: BBC2 (10.00pm) HEART OF HARLESDEN - A former drug dealer releases a record calling for an end to shootings.

05/04 THURSDAY: Forget everything! Phil confronts his assailant in Eastenders...!

• YOUTH WORK EVENTS 

TEENWISE CONFERENCE: Effective ways to reduce teenage pregnancy rates and improve sexual health. Date - Tuesday/Wednesday June 19th/20th, Non-residential / Venue - Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent. Cost - £48 one day; £86 two days Plenary sessions and workshops. For GPs, nurses, youth workers, teachers, teenage pregnancy co-ordinators.

• LAST WEEK IN SOCIETY 

• MAGAZINES & JOURNALS 

Want a fresh take on current affairs and some sound analysis. Rys Evans has developed a news site, called News From Everywhere and it contains excellent global resources, including letters from Guatemala and Mexico that document life in refugee camps and how hard people have to work in order to create a stable life for themselves.

Its well worth a read if you want to develop a global perspective to your work and you can subscribe to a regular rundown of News from Everywhere. 

Click here to visit News From Everywhere.

In Young People Now this month, there are articles about what makes young people feel empowered/disempowered; whether youth work can help young people to wade through social dilemmas with informed choice; a study into effective partnerships between schools and community groups.

Subscriptions: 22.80 (year) / 2.00 per copy Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.  

The current issue of Youth & Policy has articles looking at pre-employment screening for youth workers / Rural youth work policy / Careers guidance / Young offenders / An argument for youth clubs.

Subscriptions: 25.00 (individuals - year) / Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.

• FACISM.COM 

Student Youth Work Online will be launching and reporting on an investigation into the use of the net to promote racist, sexist and homophobic abuse. In an analysis that will span from chat rooms through to forums planning attacks, we will present a dossier for action. 

If you would like to get involved or have had experience of online abuse, email us at youthwork@go.to .

• WEB-WATCH 

Its in our links page, but if you haven't visited it, make sure that young people know about THE SITE a very funky place that really is young people friendly from start to finish. The discussion forums are risque, frank and honest, the information helpful and written in jargon-free cool language. 

Check out: The Site and let us know what you think.

• REPORTERS! 

Student Youth Work Online now offers the Reporter service. If you have an event you would like covered, we can take details and report on it for you. Or if you would like something to be written up in our practice section, we can do this also. 

Archive: w/c Monday 26th March 2001

• r e c o g n i s e d  p u b l i c  s e r v a n t s

How cool was it to pick up a copy of the Guardian on Tuesday and see none other than a youth and community worker interviewed BANG on the front page...! For two days last week the Guardian ran a special report into the state of the public services and chatted to over 200 of those dedicating their work to society. It was interesting and if you missed it, get over to the website for a read. Most interesting though was the study of what the general public who were interviewed think about the state services...

For more information, check out: http://societyguardian.co.uk

• c o n s u l t a t i o n 

The Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) is seeking to develop ways that black young people and communities can become more involved in the local and regional decision making processes in terms of central government's policy implementation. Founded on the principles of ensuring that black groups and individuals play an active role in their community's economic regeneration, the Group approached the government stating that whilst consultation had been good, the needs of black young people were given little consideration.

With funding, the BTEG is looking to approach organisations and service users to ascertain some key issues facing young black people and the black youth voluntary sector. Further work intends to be developed, and pro-active involvement from interested parties would be welcomed.

This major consultation exercise sounds like an exciting opportunity for groups to promote democracy and participation among black young people. 

If you would like more information or to find out how to get involved, please contact Pravin Patel, Youth Policy Consultant either by email or by phone: 0116 210 4740.

•  m a g a z i n e s  a n d  j o u r n a l s  

Want a fresh take on current affairs and some sound analysis. Rys Evans has developed a news site, called News From Everywhere and it contains excellent global resources, including letters from Guatemala and Mexico that document life in refugee camps and how hard people have to work in order to create a stable life for themselves.

Its well worth a read if you want to develop a global perspective to your work and you can subscribe to a regular rundown of News from Everywhere. 

Click here to visit News From Everywhere.

In Young People Now this month, there are articles about what makes young people feel empowered/disempowered; whether youth work can help young people to wade through social dilemmas with informed choice; a study into effective partnerships between schools and community groups.

Subscriptions: 22.80 (year) / 2.00 per copy Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.  

The current issue of Youth & Policy has articles looking at pre-employment screening for youth workers / Rural youth work policy / Careers guidance / Young offenders / An argument for youth clubs.

Subscriptions: 25.00 (individuals - year) / Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.

• f a c i s m . c o m   

Student Youth Work Online will be launching and reporting on an investigation into the use of the net to promote racist, sexist and homophobic abuse. In an analysis that will span from chat rooms through to forums planning attacks, we will present a dossier for action. 

If you would like to get involved or have had experience of online abuse, email us at youthwork@go.to .

• c o v e r i n g  y o u r  w o r k 

Student Youth Work Online now offers the Reporter service. If you have an event you would like covered, we can take details and report on it for you. Or if you would like something to be written up in our practice section, we can do this also. 

See the Reporters! section for more information.

^{Archive: Monday 19th March 2001}

• a w a r d s / r e c o g n i t i o n  f o r  y o u n g  p e o p l e

The Philip Lawrence award nominations for this year are being taken. These are awarded to young people who display active citizenship and are particularly targeted where this has involved tackling crime and violence, promoting community safety and racial harmony. There are cash tokens for groups and mementos/certificates for young people.

For more information, check out: http://www.nya.org.uk/philip_lawrence_awards.htm

•  m a g a z i n e s  a n d  j o u r n a l s  

In Young People Now this month, there are articles about what makes young people feel empowered/disempowered; whether youth work can help young people to wade through social dilemmas with informed choice; a study into effective partnerships between schools and community groups.

Subscriptions: 22.80 (year) / 2.00 per copy Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.  

The current issue of Youth & Policy has articles looking at pre-employment screening for youth workers / Rural youth work policy / Careers guidance / Young offenders / An argument for youth clubs.

Subscriptions: 25.00 (individuals - year) / Tel: 0116 285 3712 or email sales@nya.org.

• o b s e r v i n g  b r i t a i n  

The Observer did a wonderful little study into British life, modern attitudes and the like. Drugs, sex and money - all revealed in this rather revealing little document.

If you missed Britain Uncovered that was published on Sunday 18th March, never fear - Student Youth Work Online has found the online version at:

http://www.observer.co.uk/britainuncovered/0,9462,458050,00.html.

• c o n s u l t a t i o n 

The Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) is seeking to develop ways that black young people and communities can become more involved in the local and regional decision making processes in terms of central government's policy implementation. Founded on the principles of ensuring that black groups and individuals play an active role in their community's economic regeneration, the Group approached the government stating that whilst consultation had been good, the needs of black young people were given little consideration.

With funding, the BTEG is looking to approach organisations and service users to ascertain some key issues facing young black people and the black youth voluntary sector. Further work intends to be developed, and pro-active involvement from interested parties would be welcomed.

This major consultation exercise sounds like an exciting opportunity for groups to promote democracy and participation among black young people. 

If you would like more information or to find out how to get involved, please contact Pravin Patel, Youth Policy Consultant either by email or by phone: 0116 210 4740.

• o n l i n e   r e s o u r c e s

A new online resource for youth workers challenging racism has proved to be a big hit. In the form of an online game, it is a useful look at life in Britain today and can be a valuable tool for approaching the subject in an informal environment. 

Play BritKid at http://www.britkid.org. 

Also, check out the new Youthorg UK site, the UK Youth website that offers a virtual community for young people and youth workers to learn together and develop an awareness of the benefits of the internet, amongst other things.

You can visit the site at http://www.youth.org.uk and let us know how you get on.