Youth Blast

Youth Blast: Finding Common Ground is a collaborative project that seeks to address some of the social issues present in the Northern Suburbs of Darwin.

Project activities include a rotating dance party, a poster competition, sports activities, arts projects, music projects, a camp, computer and blogging workshops, and a forum to discuss issues facing youth from diverse backgrounds. An organizing committee with representatives from Mission Australia Youth Initiatives, The SHAK and Energy Cruz (Red Cross), Melaleuca Refugee Centre, Multicultural Council NT, Multicultural Youth Council of the NT, Brown’s Mart Community Arts, and the NT Police coordinates the facilitation of the activities and the input from young people.

These activities, suggested by young people for young people through a consultation project conducted in late 2006, will take place between August 2007 and January 2008. The Youth Blast project was launched in late July with the Youth Fiesta coordinated by the Multicultural Youth Council of the NT.

Youth Blast: Finding Common Ground seeks to provide opportunities for young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds to share affordable and accessible activities. The project also hopes to include young people from newly arrived backgrounds and Indigenous young people in the planning and consultation and provide opportunities for leadership experiences.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Office of Youth Affairs, NT Government. The grant was provided specifically to address issues present in the Northern Suburbs of Darwin, including young people from refugee and Indigenous backgrounds.