- Analyse real community and youth engagement challenges in the City of Casey, considering cultural diversity, social inclusion, representation, and barriers to participation.
- Design and prototype an innovative, youth‑focused solution that strengthens community connection or addresses a genuine local need using human‑centred design.
- Apply ethical and culturally responsive thinking to ensure their ideas are inclusive, accessible, and appropriate for Casey’s diverse community groups.
- Communicate their solution effectively through a professional pitch tailored for local government, youth services, or community organisations.
The City of Casey is one of Australia’s fastest‑growing and most diverse communities — home to young people with extraordinary potential, and also to challenges around belonging, participation, representation, and social connection.
The Community & Youth Engagement Enterprise Program invites students to step into the roles of community designers, social innovators, and youth advocates. Over an intensive three days, students will investigate genuine local issues, design solutions that strengthen community connections, and build prototypes that could make a meaningful difference right here in Casey.
Students dive into the social, cultural, and systemic factors that shape community engagement in the City of Casey, including:
- How do we make local youth feel represented, heard, and valued?
- What stops young people from engaging in community programs, services, or local decision-making?
- How might we design spaces, tools, or initiatives that foster belonging across cultures, ages, and abilities?
- How do we support connection in a city growing faster than the infrastructure that serves it?
- How can technology help build stronger, safer, more inclusive communities?
These are complex, people‑centred challenges with no single “correct” answer — only thoughtful, ethical, community‑led solutions.
Details
Available: Term 1-4
Levels: 9-10
Duration: 3 days
Capacity: 50-100 Students
- Civics & Citizenship
- Personal & Social Capability
- Ethical Capability
- Critical & Creative Thinking Capability
- Design & Technologies
- Local Government & Community Development: Students engage with real challenges faced by local councils such as youth participation, cultural inclusion, community cohesion and public engagement — aligning closely with work undertaken by the City of Casey’s Community Strengthening and Youth Services teams.
- Youth Work & Social Services: Direct connection to industries focused on youth empowerment, mental wellbeing, social inclusion, and support programs. Students model the work of youth workers, case managers, outreach teams and community engagement officers.
- Multicultural & Diversity Services: Students explore issues relevant to industries working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities — a strong focus area in Casey due to its highly diverse population. This includes cultural safety, equitable access, and inclusive program design.
- Community Health & Wellbeing Sector: Alignment with organisations addressing social isolation, safe community spaces, positive behaviours, and preventative wellbeing programs, including those partnering with schools and youth cohorts.
- Non‑profits & Grassroots Organisations: Students design solutions similar to those developed by NGOs working in volunteering, advocacy, neighbourhood houses, community arts, sports inclusion, and youth leadership initiatives.
- Digital & Social Innovation: Strong links to industries building digital tools for community connection, civic engagement, communication, event access, behaviour change, and local participation.
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