Voicebox: Young People’s Voices Calling for Action!

From October 30 to November 2, SpeakOut Connect facilitated and supported 64 young people (aged 13 to 20) from throughout Australasia to share their stories and experiences of living in care.

The facilitated program, titled Voicebox, was for the young delegates of the 12th biennial Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. Young Delegates travelled from all over Australia and New Zealand, to participate in the conference and Voicebox, staged at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

SpeakOut provided a ranges of spaces, resources and skills building opportunities that included: video, craft, screen-printing, visual art, sock puppets, stop motion animation, photography, blogging, speech and presentation development, and music-making.

One of the key goals of Voicebox was to collate the content and stories of the young people developed over 1 and a half days to present to the broader conference delegation of over 650 people.

On Thursday afternoon, November 1, the young delegates showcased their work to the conference delegation in the main auditorium of the Gold Coast Convention Centre. The presentation featured: a song – recorded and performed live, a short film documenting the young people’s journey over the previous day and a half, and short speeches from 7 young delegates outlining their experiences of care and suggested strategies to address gaps and inadequacies in the juvenile care system.

The presentation received an overwhelming response from the broader delegation and amidst many tears and resounding applause the Commissioner for the Commission for Children, Young People and Child Guardian acknowledged that this was the most important, courageous and impacting message and presentation she had ever witnessed. The Commissioner also acknowledged that the presentation would greatly alter and inform how the Commission would continue to work with children and young people in care.

The song, written and produced by the young delegates, Voices calling for action has been mastered and published on CD.

SpeakOut would like to thank and acknowledge all Voicebox participants; we will always remember your creativity, humour, dedication, courage, and wisdom.

Voicebox was funded through the Queensland Commission for Children, Young People and Child Guardian.