Summary
The Rainbow Youth Advisory Group (RYAG) provides the opportunity
for young people 12 to 25 years to share their knowledge and lived experience to
increase social inclusion in the City of Greater Geelong. The aim of the group
is to provide a youth voice in Youth Development Unit’s Barriers and Enablers
Project and contribute to ongoing development of Social Inclusion Training and
Community Capacity Building.
The
City of Greater Geelong – Youth Development Unit delivers a suite of social
inclusion groups, programs, events and training for young people and the local
youth sector, including the Gender and Sexuality Project - GASP.
Purpose
The Rainbow Youth Advisory Group will
be made up of young people from the LGBTIQA+ (Rainbow) community with an
interest in community advocacy and social inclusion. The group will provide direction,
recommendations, and inform inclusion practise for the City of Greater
Geelong – Youth Development Unit Rainbow Positive Youth Projects.
Roles and Responsibilities
- The role of the Rainbow Youth Advisory Group is
to provide advice and support for the establishment and roll out of the City of
Greater Geelong Rainbow Positive Youth Project (Barriers & Enablers).
The Rainbow Youth Advisory Group will
be responsible for providing advice, feedback, and support to the pilot Barriers
& Enablers project within City of Greater Geelong.
As an example,
participants may be asked to:
- Share expertise, knowledge, and experiences regarding social inclusion and the issues facing the LGBTIQA+ Youth Community
- Select and onboard external stakeholders i.e.. community organisations, schools, sporting club etc. to participate in the City of Greater Geelong Rainbow Positive Youth Project (Barriers & Enablers)
- Evaluate the Youth Development Unit’s Rainbow Ready Roadmap Status
Involvement in the evaluation process relating the City of Greater Geelong Rainbow Positive Youth Project (Barriers & Enablers)
- Supported in minute taking for RYAG meetings
- Undertake training and development to assist in undertaking the role of a RYAG member
Supporting Rainbow Positive initiatives both within Youth Development Unit and Community Organisations
- Advising on barriers that exist for rainbow young people in City of Greater Geelong and raising voices of the rainbow community
Selection process
Young
people will complete an expression of interest (EOI) process which will be
followed by an interview with Youth Development Social Inclusion Officers. Based
on the results of this process successful members will be selected by Youth
Development Social Inclusion Officers.
Membership and Term
Membership
The Rainbow Youth Advisory Group will be made up of 12 young people who represent the diversity of the youth LGBTIQA+ communities in the City of Greater Geelong.
Members will need to meet the following criteria:
- Be aged at least 12 years old, and be no older than 25 years old at the date of submitting the expression of interest
- Live, work, study or have a strong community connection to the Geelong region
- Identify as person from the LGBTIQA+ community
- Possess a commitment to inclusion for people who identify as LGBTIQA+
- Members over 18 may be required to obtain a Working with Children’s Checks (WWCC) as part of the Child Safe Standards Policy (applications for WWCC will be supported upon successful appointment to the group)
- Members cannot be appointed to any other City of Greater Geelong advisory committee or council i.e.. Geelong Youth Council during their term.
Term
This Advisory Group commences on 7 February 2024. Members will be appointed for a one-year term with an option to reapply for a second term.
Chair
The Advisory Group will be chaired by the Youth Development Officer
(Social Inclusion). The Chairperson is responsible for the fair conduct of
meetings and for ensuring open opportunity is available for all members to
voice their views and opinions. The Chair may decide to share the chairing role
as per the need.
Meeting Procedure
The Advisory Group shall meet
monthly, Meeting agendas shall be set by the Youth Development Officer (Social
Inclusion). A formal agenda and minutes will be kept for each meeting. Meetings
will be held in person unless required to be conducted online in certain circumstances.
Meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of the
month, 5 to 7pm at Wurriki Nyal, Geelong.
Quorum
The quorum for the Rainbow Youth Advisory Group meeting shall be 50% of the membership, plus one. Where a loss of quorum is identified, the meeting
may be adjourned until such time as the Chair may determine.
New Members
The Rainbow Youth Advisory Group will discuss and decide the recruitment
of new members if a vacancy exists. New members will be interviewed and
appointed by the group in consultation with the Youth Development Officer
(Social Inclusion).
Guiding Principles
The Rainbow Group Advisory Group represents the program at the local youth level, and it is expected that the following responsibilities be undertaken professionally. Members will endeavour to:
- Treat each other with respect and dignity
- Recognise and respect diverse opinions
- Give each other the space to speak
- Listen with open minds
- Work constructively within the group, including identifying issues and potential recommendations
- Actively contribute to discussions, representing the interests of the community they support
- Raise any concerns about the committee with the Youth Development Officers (Social Inclusion)
- Attend scheduled meetings and inform the Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion) if unable to attend
- Be ambassadors and promote social inclusion programs and projects in consultation with the Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion)
Ceasing Membership
Members should notify the Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion) of their intention to resign from the Advisory Group by email or letter.
The resignation will be included on the agenda at the next scheduled committee meeting
Where a member has an undeclared conflict of interest issues and/or incapacity to abide by the committee’s Terms of Reference, the matter will be added to the agenda for the next scheduled committee meeting for discussion and possible resending of the member’s membership on the committee. If required, a vote will be conducted by the Chairperson.
Scope of Decision Making and Voting Rights
As far as practicable the Rainbow Youth Advisory Group will provide
advice and guidance reflecting the collective wisdom of the advisory group and
the best available information provided by representative groups, community
organisations and Council officers.
The RYAG has no delegated authority to make decisions on behalf of the
City of Greater Geelong, Youth Development Unit or GASP.
Review
The Advisory Group will review the Terms of Reference, including the structure, role, achievements, and composition every two years.
2024 Meeting Dates
Wednesday 07 February
Wednesday 06 March
Wednesday 03 April***
Wednesday 01 May
Wednesday 05 June
Wednesday 03 July***
Wednesday 07 August
Wednesday 04 September
Wednesday 09 October
Wednesday 06 November
Wednesday 04 December
Wednesday, December 4
Members should inform the Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion) if unable to attend a meeting.
***Dates may change due to clash with school holiday dates.
Agenda and Minutes
The meeting agenda will be drafted by the Youth Development Officer
(Social Inclusion) and circulated one week before the meeting.
Committee members should forward new agenda items to the Youth
Development Officer (Social Inclusion) prior to the agenda being circulated.
The Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion) will circulate the
minutes of the meeting to all members by email within one week after the
meeting.
Reporting
Council officers will forward any recommendations made by the Rainbow Youth Advisory Group to the Youth Development Unit and relevant council committees or groups as required.
Feedback or Grievance Process
If a member has Feedback or a Grievance that they don’t wish to raise with the Youth Development Officer (Social Inclusion), correspondence can be addressed to:
Steph Dunbar (She/Her)
Coordinator- Youth Development
E: [email protected]
Definitions
Barriers and Enablers Project is an Action Research Project that seeks to identify and address barriers that exist for young people, from the Rainbow community, we will use research data and co-design principles to identify the existing barriers then apply Placed Based Community Development and Capacity Building to enable rainbow young people to participate fully in community life.
Child Safe Standards Policy means the approved policy to protect children and young people from harm and which applies to all Councillors, employees, and volunteers of the City of Greater Geelong.
City means the administrative organisation of the Council, led by the Chief Executive Officer.
Council means the Greater Geelong City Council constituted in accordance with the Local Government Act (Vic) 1989.
LGBTIQA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer & Asexual Plus.
LGBTIQA+ Community refers to people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual as well as Pansexual, Gender Diverse, Non-Binary, Gender Queer, Agender, Aromantic, Brother boy and Sister girl.
Member means a member of this advisory group.
Project means a group of related tasks executed within a limited time period.
Youth Development Unit is a business unit within the City of Greater Geelong dedicated to the development of young people.
Acknowledgment
It is to be acknowledged that this document has been created utilising knowledge gain by sighting the following documents;
- City of Greater Geelong - Youth On Board Steering Committee Terms Of Reference
- City of Glen Eira - Rainbow Pride Advisory Group Terms Of Reference
- Victorian Government Rainbow Ready Roadmap