Young South Australians have strong social and family connections. They are engaged in their communities and with the broader issues of society. They are able to easily and confidently interact with the services and systems they need to live active and engaged lives.
Building strong connections with family, peers and community is critical to wellbeing, and to building a strong sense of agency and empowerment.
We want young South Australians to have easy access to sports, arts and other recreational activities. We know that 21% of young South Australians volunteer[9] and that volunteering provides important opportunities for social connection, for learning new skills and for connecting with employment opportunities.
For this reason, our Volunteering Strategy for South Australia 2014-2021 has a focus on supporting more young South Australians to volunteer, with a range of projects in metropolitan and regional contexts. Connecting and growing is also about ensuring that young South Australians feel that their voices are represented in our communities and our democracy, by providing platforms and opportunities for young people to voice their opinions and concerns and to inform decisions that affect them, now and into the future.
Examples of initiatives that already help young people to connect and grow include:
Young people told us that they wanted to participate in decision making that influences policy, for example climate change policy and increase in renewable energy investment in South Australia
Action
Provide young people with opportunities to influence decision making in their life and communities
For example, consideration for a young representative on the Premier’s Climate Change Council
Lead
Dept. of Human Services and Dept. for Environment and Water
