“The Best of Both Worlds” - A One Day Youth Conference on Somali Australian Education and Identity

Somali Australians are one of the largest African communities with refugee backgrounds in Australia.  According to the latest data, young people make up more than 50% of this community in Melbourne and they face a multitude of challenges in  their transition to adulthood and in the process of achieving their dreams and building their future in and out of Australia. 

This one day conference organized by the La Trobe Refugee Research Centre in partnership with Victorian Young Somali Network and Somali Australia Friendship Association will listen to the voices of Somali Australian young people and give them a platform to reflect on their experiences of living and growing in Australia. The speakers are all members of the Somali Community.

Broadly, this conference will provide a forum for the Somali community to come together to share, support, network, and build partnerships to improve Somali education opportunities and awareness of Somali values. This conference also aims to explore the issues that have posed challenges for the Somali community, especially for the youth, in relation to education and to explore how to address those issues.

 

The Conference will be held on Saturday, 24 October 2009 from 11:00AM-18:00PM

at the Western Lecture Theatre, La Trobe University. For further information please

visit www.latrobe.edu.au/larrc or phone + 61 3 9479 5874.

Supported by: Spectrum MRC, ADRC, AMES, City of Darebin, Innovative Recruitment Agency, and the La Trobe University Equity and Diversity Centre.