Stand By Me - Developing and Understanding Mentoring for Young People

Eden On The Park Hotel, Melbourne, Australia

August 31 - September 2 2004

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PRIMARY AIM
To provide a forum for the free exchange of current learnings on youth mentoring, to encourage an ongoing sharing of knowledge through the development of an informal national network of contacts, and to lift the overall standard on mentoring services in Australia.

The conference will bring together a range of services and organisations and individuals interested in understanding mentoring, supporting and developing programs for young people.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES

To establish mentoring as an effective, cost efficient, honest response to the problem of alienated, isolated and rejected young people.

To encourage the development, across the country of a range of mentoring services.

To highlight the significance of community partnerships and encourage the development of a network among conference participants.

Collectively explore strategies for ongoing sustainability of programs to include the development of relationships with the corporate community and universities

To encourage Commonwealth State and local government involvement in developing long-term, community-based preventative programs for young people.

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS

Policy Makers, Researchers and Practitioners in:

local and state government

child protective services

mental health services

drug and alcohol services

juvenile justice

education departments

community care

parent organisations

Organisations Represented:

generalist and specific family support services

rural regions experiencing problems in service delivery to isolated young people

peak social service bodies

local government

specific ethnic communities

religious communities interested in mentoring young people within their religion

any volunteer organisation that considers mentoring as a 'good fit' with their current range of services