The workshop is for anyone who finds themselves in a youth centre, class room, rehab centre, youth refuge, school or just sitting in a car driving somewhere with a young person (because that’s part of your job too). Working with young people means catching their attention, firing their imaginations, doing ‘something’ so they will connect with what is happening and how it is happening. And sometimes the young person seems angry, apathetic, bored or grumpy. So what we do must be interesting, and different enough to engage the young person. This workshop explores how you can do this in a variety of ways, and when you have little time and are in circumstances that are less than ideal.

This workshop will look at the evidence around wellbeing and resilience and explore how this can inform both programs and projects for young people as well as informing individual interactions.

We will look at engagement in terms of doing something a little out-of-the-ordinary because if a young person has had bad experiences at school, or has been around the system a while, then we really do need to do something a little bit surprising and unexpected. We will also look at strategies, programs and interactions that bring out the best in a person, while tapping into the physically active side of many young people. We will also look at ways of connecting with those who may not be good at talking and/or who are imperfect at reading and writing.

Participants will:

• Become familiar with the evidence about wellbeing and resilience
• Learn the relevance of the latest brain research
• Understand the relevance of the world view of the 'outsider'
• Experience strategies to engage young people both individually and in groups
• Become familiar with the differences of engagement between individuals and groups
• Explore the place of difference and surprise in working with young people
• Experience strategies for the physically active, for the less verbal and for those who are imperfect at reading and writing

Who should attend?

Open to anyone working with young people