Latest Announcements
Media Releases
Esports and gaming essential to building 21st century communities that young people will want to live in will
Commissioner Connolly has chosen Youth Week to launch her latest report – Community Building in the 21st Century which examines how collaborative gaming can be deployed as a youth engagement strategy to build the kind of communities young people want. Supporting grassroots development of collaborative gaming and esports clubs in local community settings requires a fundamental shift in our thinking around the potential the new sport offers. What is required is an understanding that gaming and esports is a healthy, fun activity that builds resilience, communication, teamwork and self-discipline. It can also provide pathways to positive outcomes for individuals and communities in the same way traditional sports clubs do. Also like community sporting clubs, at the core of collaborative gaming is community spirit, having fun, improving skill development and achieving recognition. Esports and gaming also offers future employment opportunities, not just for professional players, but for game developers, sound engineers, broadcasters, commentators, referees and competition organisers and promoters, to name a few of the roles this burgeoning industry is creating.
To download a copy of the full media release click HERE
Commissioner launches new space for SA’s young people – hub.ccyp.com.au
Young people living in South Australia have a new place to visit. It’s called hub and it’s been created by the Commissioner for Children and Young People to enable her to continue a critical dialogue with South Australia’s young people around the things that matter to them most. hub is a place for young people to ‘visit, hang out, keep up to date, have a say, and connect’ with other young South Australians. It’s also a place that invites them to join the conversation – to contribute their ideas, get creative and to help make South Australia a great place for young people to live. If you have young South Australians in your life who you think might be interested in being a youth rep for their corner of South Australia, you should definitely tell them to visit hub today!
To download a copy of the full media release click HERE
The voice of experience – the young people asking for change in SA’s Youth Justice system
Young people aged 14 – 21 years, all with a lived experience of South Australia’s youth justice system, have recommended eight key changes to significantly improve the system from their point of view. The recommendations form part of Making Change in Youth Justice – A User’s Guide to building a better South Australian youth justice system, launched today by South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly. They include addressing cell hygiene, reducing court waiting times, supplying easy to understand information about the people and procedures young people will face, and arrangement of the courtroom to be less intimidating. They say implementing these changes would go a long way to achieving better outcomes for young people in the State’s Youth Justice system.
The young people’s recommendations include addressing cell hygiene, reducing court waiting times, supplying easy to understand information about the people and procedures young
people will face, and arrangement of the courtroom to be less intimidating. They say implementing these changes would go a long way to achieving better outcomes for young people in the State’s youth justice system.
To download a copy of the full media release click HERE
Stay focused on regional young people while the future is being re-imagined
The Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly, says that young people in Regional South Australia are looking for opportunities to participate in building the sustainable future of their local communities. Given the coronavirus and the recovery projects linked to the devastating bushfires, now is an ideal time to incorporate young people into the discussions; to hear their ideas and to act upon them. Recommendations made by regional young people on ways this could be achieved are contained in the Commissioner’s latest report – Regenerating Our Regions – increasing the participation of young people in South Australia.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
Children’s Laureate meets Children’s Commissioner in a celebration of SA children’s creativity
Australian Children’s Laureate, Ursula Dubosarsky arrives in Adelaide today at the invitation of South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly. The author of over 60 books for children and young adults, Ms Dubsarsky will guide 100 South Australian children aged 8 – 12 years through the process of writing and illustrating their own story. The event which aims to celebrate children’s creativity during Writers’ Week will take place at the State Library’s Mortlock Room.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
Commissioner welcomes Professor Colleen McLaughlin to Adelaide
Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly is pleased to welcome education expert and author, Professor Colleen McLaughlin PhD. Commissioner Connolly invited Professor McLaughlin to Adelaide, after hearing firsthand from many children and young people throughout regional and metropolitan South Australia that they are concerned about the impact school exclusion is having on individual students and their families. The children asked the Commissioner to support them to ‘help everyone get an education’.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
Former NASA astronaut helps Commissioner launch new Digital Challenge into SA classrooms today!
Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly has today launched her new Space to Dream Digital Challenge – the latest in her digital learning journey for South Australia’s children and young people. Space to Dream is all about learning to be an effective and creative problem solver. It teaches children and young people ‘design thinking’ skills applying a classic five-step design thinking process. It is the second in a series of digital challenges open to all South Australian children and young people.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
South Australia’s young global leaders devise their own action plan for the 2030 SDGs
Young South Australians have a plan for the eradication of poverty by 2030, devised in collaboration with the Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly and UN Youth SA. It contains recommendations from young people about what they believe needs to be done to address poverty in South Australia and ensure the State meets its commitment to the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
Over 19,000 SA children learnt how to speak robot this year in CCYP’S Digital Challenge
COMMISSIONER CONNOLLY CONGRATULATES ALL SA CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN HER INAUGURAL DIGITAL CHALLENGE.
PARTICIPATION IN THE ‘LEARN TO SPEAK ROBOT’ DIGITAL CHALLENGE WAS ROBUST WITH AN ESTIMATED 19,026 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE IN 2019, MANY OF WHOM EARNED VALUABLE REWARDS FOR THEIR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click HERE
First Port of Call Report – November 2019
WE MUST DO BETTER FOR OUR TRANS AND GENDER DIVERSE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE HELEN CONNOLLY, HAS TODAY LAUNCHED HER FIRST PORT OF CALL REPORT. THE REPORT FOLLOWS CONSULTATIONS WITH TRANS AND GENDER DIVERSE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, THEIR FAMILIES, ADVOCATES AND THERAPISTS. THE REPORT OUTLINES FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT INCLUDING PROVIDING MORE VISIBILITY FOR TRANS AND GENDER DIVERSE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, BETTER TRAINING AND INFORMATION FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND MORE GENDER-AFFIRMING SERVICES OVERALL.
To download a copy of the Full Media Release click here.
