Presenters

So, you want to be a Youth Worker? Supporting Career Longevity in Youth Work

This presentation addresses the significant gap in understanding professional youth work careers. Countering the narrative of professional youth work as unsustainable, it presents findings from a recent study on the experiences of long-term career youth workers. Developed through grounded theory, Transformative Career Theory posits that longevity stems from continuous adaptation and personal evolution, not just personal resilience. This research offers insights for practitioners, organisations, and researchers, aiming to foster sustainability and longevity for career youth workers.

Rewiring the Pathways: Understanding Blocked Care and Blocked Trust in Youth Work

Kristy Geuer brings over 20 years’ experience working with young people across WA. Drawing on both personal and professional insight, she is committed to trauma-informed practice that centres relational safety and systemic change. This session explores how the demands of youth work can lead to neurobiological changes that affect our capacity to provide genuine care. Kristy shares tools for working through blocked care - supporting self-awareness, relational safety, and sustainable practice.

Effective Practice in Violence Prevention Education with Boys and Young Men

Join Jolene as she unpacks Australia’s first national guide on Effective Practice in Violence Prevention Education with Boys and Young Men, developed by the DART Institute and QUT. Explore six key pillars: gender transformative, informed, whole-of-institution, engaging, relevant and tailored, and evaluation-based, to drive meaningful change. This session supports educators and practitioners to implement culturally safe, evidence-based programs that empower boys and young men to be part of the solution.

Belonging in Action: Empowering Young Adults to Create Inclusive Communities

Bec is the Coordinator of the Blue Leaf Initiative in WA’s South West. Blue Leaf creates inclusive third spaces for young adults to foster belonging and wellbeing. This session will share insights from place-based social events, strategies to build and retain young volunteers, and approaches to overcoming regional resourcing challenges through meaningful partnerships. Attendees will gain practical takeaways to enhance accessibility and inclusion in their own work, supporting young adults to connect, contribute, and thrive in their communities.

The Social Media Ban is Coming: Here’s What You Need To Know

The upcoming social media ban is going to be a massive shift for under 16s, and if they aren’t prepared, they could be left feeling anxious, disconnected and overwhelmed. Paris McNeil is a speaker, workshop facilitator and lawyer who helps students, parents, educators and youth teams to understand the social media ban, and start preparing now. As a Gen Z, Paris understands the challenges young people are facing, bridging the gap between young people, and the adults that support them. In this session, you’ll gain an understanding of the ban as well as how to support young people through it.

Responding to Change for Educational Perseverance

Blade and Shikara are youth workers in alternative education advocating for student needs. They strategically incorporate youth voice at the centre of daily practice and develop opportunities for young people to flourish as their authentic selves. This presentation explores how systems can be reflexive to individuals and have positive impact for educational engagement and overcoming barriers that impact self-worth, community engagement and life-long learning.

Co-Design: Exploring a New Frontier

Bridget Clarke is the Project Manager for Collaborate to Connect (C2C) , with a background in community engagement and strategic communications. Michele is a C2C Project Officer, with a background in mental health, peer support, NDIS, and training and development. Together they will take you on a co-design journey, sharing what they’ve learned about co-design, through co-design itself, and how concepts such as safety and authenticity translate into action. The C2C program will build WA organisations’ capacity to co-design for impact.

Beyond Inclusion: Systemic Advocacy as a Tool for Real Change in LGBTIQA+ Young People’s Lives

Chloe Clements and Becca Attwood represent the Youth Pride Network, a youth-led org driving change for LGBTIQA+ young people in WA. Chloe brings over a decade of experience in queer rights and inclusive policy, Becca—a queer person of colour and mental health advocate—uses storytelling to amplify lived experience. In this session, they’ll share how YPN moves beyond tokenism to create real, systemic change through advocacy and policy with young LGBTIQA+ voices at the centre.