From Tuesday the 25th of February to Friday the 28th of February the AH&MRC attended and supported staff members from Aboriginal Community Controlled Medical Services to attend, the National Indigenous Youth Empowerment Summit in Cairns.
The National Indigenous Youth Empowerment Summit brought together workers from various sectors to share successes, create partnerships, improve service delivery to young people and most importantly give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people a voice to ensure the health system is supporting them to live a healthy and happy life.
The four-day Summit was filled with presentations from industry leaders and truly inspirational individuals who are not only changing the sector but also setting the example for the next generation. Most importantly, it was an opportunity for young people to feel empowered, by telling their stories and having their truths heard.
The Summit was a collaboration of knowledge sharing and discussions focusing on 3 key topics: child protection, social and emotional wellbeing and youth justice, with the aim to improve services outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
The Summit highlighted that young people are experts on their own health. The future of Australia depends on the country’s ability to foster the health and wellbeing of the current generation of young people, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, because of the increasing health and wellbeing challenges that they face.
A special thank you to our member, Katungul Aboriginal Community and Medical Services Corp. and Rekindling the Spirit for providing a New South Wales perspective on the discussion topics.
AH&MRC look forward to attending and supporting NSW Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to be involved in future events aimed at improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
Authors:
AH&MRC Practice Support Team
