Social inclusion 2008

The Illawarra Forum  Conference on  Social Inclusion was held on 17 October 2008 in Jamberoo. The day explored these questions:

How will the current ideas about social inclusion influence our work in the community sector?

Or how may we influence those ideas?

Download the Conference Statement on Social Inclusion in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven

Download the Conference powerpoint presentation from Peter Saunders, Social Policy Research Centre, Uni NSW. He spoke about his research in 'The Left Out and Missing Out Project which looked at poverty, disadvantage and social inclusion.

Download the Conference paper from Narelle Clay, CEO Southern Youth and Family Services, who looked at how services for young people at risk of homelessness change their lives. She cited the current numbers of people who are homeless in Australia: 105,000 people, 32,500 aged 12 to 24 years, 22,000 of those are teenagers, an additional 12,000 children homeless on any night.

Download the Conference paper from Lynne Keevers, social researcher who applied the ideas of social inclusion to the grass roots reality of community work. “We need to speak out and demand recognition from policy-makers and government that community services organisations are important not just because they provide services but what is crucial is their unique never-ending role in facilitating people’s struggles over social justice …We urgently need social policy that focuses on the value of community networks, groups and organisations.”

More info on social inclusion

The Minister for Social Inclusion, Julia Gillard has released a research paper prepared by the Australian Institute of Family Studies to help improve social inclusion in the Australian community. The paper explores the priority areas identified for action by the Rudd Government, including children at risk, child poverty, jobless families and intergenerational disadvantage. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the concept of social inclusion and of key themes and emerging debates about social inclusion in Australia and selected overseas countries. It was designed to assist the Australian Government, the Social Inclusion Unit and the Australian Social Inclusion Board to progress the social inclusion agenda. Australia has the OECD's second highest level of children living in jobless families (12 per cent) and the number of homeless families with children has increased by 17 per cent since 2001. The evidence shows that if income poverty is concentrated in specific local areas it can become bound up with a host of other problems that impact particularly on children's wellbeing and children's life chances.
To download the report click on the link http://www.socialinclusion.gov.au/documents/AIFS_Social_inclusion_report_pdf.htm

The ‘Our Voices Our Communities’ (OVOC) action research project investigates the contribution small, local community groups make to the health and well being of the Illawarra community. The themes include: building social connectedness; building pride in culture; and strengthening cultural identity in the community. The research project is a collaborative initiative between Shellharbour TAFE, Illawarra Forum, Voice for SONG, and Illawarra Multicultural Services. Click here to download

You can download the Australian Services Union discussion paper 'Building Social Inclusion' at http://www.asu.asn.au/media/sacs/20070504_socialinclusion.html