Latest Announcements
Media Releases
Let’s stand with SA young people says Commissioner
South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People has chosen International Human Solidarity Day (20 December, 2020) to launch a new set of resources that highlight the views of young people. Commissioner Connolly is calling on SA adults to stand in solidarity with young people in their efforts to create a better world.
Standing in solidarity with one another was identified in the United Nations’ Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, that ‘those who suffer most or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most’.
Read the full media release here
Commissioner reports steady progress on SA child rights but no time for complacency
Commissioner Helen Connolly has today released a series of Progress Reports on South Australia’s progress on child rights. Launched to coincide with International Human Rights Day (10 December), the Progress Reports cover six separate child rights issues highlighted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child as areas of concern. They include child health, education, physical punishment, disability, child justice and child protection. The progress reports prepared by the Commissioner indicate there is still considerable work to be done in South Australia in the areas of child justice, child protection and health. Overall some evidence of progress can be seen across all six areas highlighted. Every five years, the Australian Government must meet its international obligation to report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) explaining how Australia is faring in relation to child’s rights.
Download the full media release here
Download the suite of progress reports here
Commissioner to speak at international conference on menstrual dignity amongst a push for FREE sanitary products in schools
Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly, has been calling upon women leaders in South Australia’s Parliament to get in step with their female counterparts at the state, national and international level, and work together to make free sanitary products available in schools, colleges and universities throughout the State a reality.
This Thursday 10 December (tomorrow), she will state her case at the virtual ‘International Workshop on Dignified Menstruation’ streaming via the Internet and being hosted by Nepal, from Kathmandu. Organised by the Global South Coalition, Commissioner Connolly is one of 26 guest speakers invited to present at the workshop style conference. As a guest panellist she will join two members of the Nepalese Parliament to discuss ‘whether menstrual dignity is of any political interest’, including what policy levers she recommends be used to destigmatise menstruation and encourage South Australia to join the growing global Dignified Menstruation (DM) movement.
For more information about the Commissioner’s End Period Poverty, Period. campaign and petition go to: https://endperiodpoverty.com.au/
For more information about the work of the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People go to: https://www.ccyp.com.au
More than 8,400 SA ‘Tweens’ share what matters to them most
The Blame Game is the latest report released by Commissioner Helen Connolly examining the findings from her School Exclusions project in which 400 South Australian children and young people and their families, shared their views on the impact of education exclusion. The report examines the perspectives of these children and their families and found that they differ significantly from those of teachers and schools with students often perceiving exclusion, including suspensions, expulsions and being excluded from a classroom, as a form of punishment for situations that are often exacerbated by factors that are beyond their own control.
Read the full media release here.
Download the report here
Commissioner Opens Space to Dream ‘Design Thinking’ Challenge Exhibition at MOD
Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly, today announced the opening of an exhibition at MOD. showcasing the top-rated entries for her inaugural Space to Dream ‘Design Thinking’ Challenge in which she challenged South Australian children and young people to use design thinking to create a toy or gadget for someone their age who is ‘moving to Mars’.
The challenge was devised to inspire the next generation of space entrepreneurs and innovators – it also speaks to teachers, parents and the broader SA community about the possibilities the space industry offers SA children and young people in careers of the future.
Space to Dream helps young South Australians draw a direct link between the Australian Space Agency, now based at Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, and their potential to be part of the industry it steers. Potential that offers them career opportunities encompassing innovation, design, and technology, to name just a few of the areas in which ‘dream jobs’ are likely to be created within the space industry of the future.
A total of 36 Space to Dream 3D models and drawn designs will be on display at MOD from now until Saturday 28 November
Read the full media release here
Commissioner calls for SA leaders to advocate for FREE sanitary products
What do Queensland, Scotland and New Zealand have in common?
Women leaders who have advocated for the introduction of free sanitary products for their citizens. Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly is calling upon women leaders in South Australia’s Parliament to get in step with their female counterparts at the state, national and international levels, and work together to introduce free sanitary products into schools, colleges and universities throughout the State before the end of this COVID-19 year.
Commissioner Connolly points to New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern; Member of the Scottish Parliament, Monica Lennon; and Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, who have all recognised that to address the issue of gender inequality, girls and young women must have access to essential sanitary items, regardless of whether they can afford to buy them or not.
Read the full media release here
It’s time to look through the eyes of the child to see what they say makes an organisation child safe
On the 30th anniversary of National Child Protection Week (6 – 12 September, 2020) Commissioner Helen Connolly has released ‘Trust is a Must’ – what does it take to be child friendly and child safe?’
The Commissioner’s latest report examines findings from an online survey of more than 260 South Australian children and young people, the majority of whom were between 12 and 17 years of age (94%) in which the Commissioner asked what they think it takes to be child safe. Children and young people told the Commissioner they want adults to set-up up processes that create a cycle of continuous feedback. They will begin to believe adults are taking them seriously when their complaints, issues and concerns are acted upon in ways children and young people have suggested will work best; not based on assumptions adults have made about a child or young person’s life or situation
Read the full media release here
Download a copy of the report here
Play critical to teenage health and wellbeing new report finds
Commissioner Connolly has today released a new report titled ‘Press Play’. The report examines the findings of a survey of 500 South Australian young people aged 13 – 18 on the importance of play in their lives. While much research focuses on the importance of play for young children, rarely is the importance of play for teenagers examined. Press Play identifies what activities young people define as play, as well as what barriers prevent them from participating in more play. These include having too much homework and not nearly enough ‘play’ time embedded into delivery of their school learning agenda. Governments, civic society and business all have an obligation to build the youth-friendly infrastructure young people need in order to fulfil their need and right to play. The report contains recommendations from young people themselves, on how to embed playfulness into their lives to foster creativity and critical thinking.
Read the full media release here
Download a copy of the report here
Young People not the face of the pandemic but maybe the eyes and ears
Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly has today released Reflections on COVID-19 in which in their own words, South Australian young people reflect on the impact of the coronavirus on their world and their futures. More than 300 young people contributed their reflections through conversations, focus groups and a journaling project which explored their experiences of feeling hopeless and helpless; the impact on their identity and opportunities; on their participation and motivation; relationships and connection; and what it has meant in relation to accessing services and increasing inequality.
To download a copy of the full media release click HERE
Young people and families ask for new approach to careers education and work experience
Commissioner Connolly has today released a suite of reports examining careers education for South Australian school students. The reports are the culmination of a two-year in-depth examination into what young people need to successfully transition from school into the world of work. The major report in the series – Off to Work We Go – examines what young South Australian school students (aged 12 – 18 years) recommend be done to improve their prospects of being future work-ready, while two companion reports – Spotlight on Parent/Carer Careers Advice and Spotlight on Work Experience, cover the perspectives of parents and carers, business owners and operators, and school careers educators and advisors.
To download a copy of the full media release click HERE
