Youth+Central

This page has been created to link to a few outstanding websites for young people. Top of the list at the moment is Youth Central. You are also invited to visit Freeza and Schoolies. More about each of these appears below.

//youthcentral//
is the Victorian Government's web-based initiative for young people aged 12-25.

About this site
//youthcentral// offers a range of information and advice on issues like jobs, study, travel, money and events in your local area - wherever you live in Victoria - whilst offering opportunities for you to participate. On this site you'll find:
 * Details about jobs and employment programs
 * Information about studying and training opportunities
 * Interview techniques, career profiles & resume templates
 * Links to services and resources in your local area
 * Competitions and downloads

FReeZA today
FReeZA is an innovative youth development program managed by the Office for Youth, within the [|Department of Planning and Community Development] in the Victorian Government.

FReeZA gives young Victorians aged 12-25 the opportunity to lead the planning and staging of live band gigs, BMX/Skate comps and other cultural, recreational and artistic events in fully supervised and safe venues. All FReeZA events are drug, alcohol and smoke-free.

FReeZA supports young people to lead planning and staging of music, artistic and cultural events in their local communities. The program also provides important performance opportunities for local musicians and emerging artists to showcase their talent through competitions such as the Victorian Battle of the Bands.

Through Local FReeZA Committees young people have the chance to:

• determine what types of events and cultural activities they want in their communities

• participate in delivering events and cultural activities for young people between 14 – 18 years of age

• be involved in decision making

• be involved in volunteering

• be involved in youth development and training activities

In 2008/09, there are FReeZA Committees across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria who will run over 450 events with an attendance of over 130,000 young people in over 110 venues.

Schoolies
Seven days hardly seems long enough for school-leavers, with thousands of year 12 students heading to destinations across Victoria and Australia to celebrate the end of school between mid-November & mid-December each year. This site has been designed to help school-leavers & parents make their well-earned celebrations as safe and hassle-free as possible. There are a few places in Victoria with some organised schoolies efforts, including Surf Coast Shire (Lorne and Torquay), Bass Coast Shire (Phillip Island) and Mornington Peninsula Shire (Sorrento & Portsea). Queensland, South Australia (particularly Victor Harbour) and Western Australia also have their own organised schoolies efforts. You can find out more about schoolies, including info for parents, stories from ex-schoolies and tips from youth and health workers on the following pages: