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We are a collaborative research lab for co-designing young people’s sustainable futures in times of crisis and disruption.

Featured Projects

Young People’s Education and Employment Aspirations in Geelong

The project will provide Geelong region stakeholders with a strong evidence base over 3 years to co-design innovative interventions to foster the education and employment aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Geelong.

Micro-Credential for Neurodiverse Young People in Whittlesea

This project supports neurodiverse young people in completing a Micro-Credential in Co-Design for Diversity and Inclusion and to evaluate their progress in successfully achieving this in Whittlesea.
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Blog

Geelong

Deindustrialisation, youth unemployment, and the (broken) promises of education in the 21st century

In previous posts on this blog, we introduced the stories of Madeline and Marisa, two of the young people participating in our research in Geelong. In the third and final blog post in this series, we develop a discussion around some of the important themes that emerge from Madeline and Marisa’s stories.
12 April 2023
Geelong

Marisa’s story

The second in a series of three blogs in which we feature the stories of Madeline and Marisa, two of the young people participating in our research in Geelong. We consider what these stories provoke us to think about, and how the stories can make a productive contribution about young people’s hopes and aspirations in post-pandemic Geelong.
29 March 2023
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Apr 12

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DEINDUSTRIALISATION, YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT, AND THE (BROKEN) PROMISES OF EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY In a series of posts on our blog, we have featured the stories of Madeline and Marisa, two of the young people participating in our research in Geelong. We consider what these stories provoke us to think about, in terms of young people's hopes and aspirations in post-pandemic Geelong. For much of the 20th century, Geelong was a booming regional city, home to major industries that employed large numbers of people. However, the offshoring of production and the impacts of successive economic recessions hit Geelong hard, and by the late 20th century the city had become one of Australia’s youth unemployment blackspots. When we talk about the young person’s ‘capacity to aspire’, we need to shift focus from the individual and their ‘failings’, and to think about the ways in which a person or community’s social, cultural and economic circumstances can produce particular ‘orientations to the future’. Read more on our blog. Link in bio #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #aspirations #employment #unemployment #education #sustainablefutures #21stcenturyskills @geelongregionllen @g21_geelong_region @northernfuturesgeelong

Mar 29

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MARISA'S STORY The Young People’s Sustainable Futures Lab has been conducting video interviews with young people in Geelong. These young people have shared with us their hopes and aspirations for the future, and the challenges of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Marisa says, 'Schools usually act like VCE and getting an ATAR score is the be-all and end-all, and it honestly doesn’t seem that way'. She speaks to the pressure placed on young people in Years 11 and 12 to pursue university studies, even when it might not be the right fit for them. Read more about Marisa's story on our blog. Link in bio #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #employment #21stcenturyskills #codesign #education #vocationaleducation @geelongregionllen @g21_geelong_region @northernfuturesgeelong @the_gordon @headspacegeelong

Mar 22

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MADELINE'S STORY The Young People's Sustainable Futures Lab has been conducting video interviews with young people in Geelong. These young people have shared with us their hopes and aspirations for the future, and the challenges of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. 17-year-old Madeline said her casual job working in a supermarket allowed her to develop skills for the ‘real-life world’ that would boost her future career prospects. However, she says young people in their 20s were often denied opportunities to get the skills they needed, because employers often prefer to hire teenagers, who they can pay junior wages. She says, 'I feel that the employment in Geelong really needs to become better. And there’s just not enough employment.' Read more about Madeline's story on our blog. Link in bio #postpandemicGeelong #youngpeople #sustainablefutures #Geelong #employment #underemployment #youthstudies #21centuryskills #codesign @geelongregionllen @g21_geelong_region @northernfuturesgeelong @diversitattraining @headspacegeelong @madeline_a_grace

Mar 21

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In her new book Gen F'd?, economist Alison Pennington argues that decades of neoliberal capitalism have produced levels of economic inequality not seen in Australia since the Depression. She says young people must rise up and demand a new Fair Go before the economic and climate crises of the 21st century consume their futures. 'Starting anew means a complete break from the neoliberal rubble and pursuing a better, more positive path for Australia's economy that runs exclusion, extraction and dispossession out of town. With an interest in ending the powers of rentier enterprise, fossil-fuel giants, and landlordism and demolishing insecure work, young Australians can lead a movement that transcends the neoliberal fossil-fuel based ruins.' #genf'd? #neoliberalism #capitalism #youngpeople #inequality #climatechange

Mar 17

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JAMES' STORY The Young People's Sustainable Futures Lab has been conducting video interviews with young people in Geelong. These young people have shared with us their hopes and aspirations for the future, and the challenges of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, James and his family migrated to Geelong via a Malawi refugee camp, after fleeing civil war in their home country. Read more about James' story on our blog. Link in bio

Mar 16

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JAMES' STORY Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing some insights from our research with young people in Geelong. Through video interviews they shared with us their plans and aspirations for the future, and the challenges of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. James is a young man who migrated to Geelong from the Democratic Republic of Congo. James has been able to make a life for himself and his family in Geelong, and he is grateful for the opportunities that have opened for him in this regional city. Read more about James' story on our blog. Link in bio #postpandemicGeelong #youngpeople #aspirations #Geelong #covid19 #sustainablefutures #diversity #inclusion #geelongyouth #codesign @geelongregionllen @g21_geelong_region @northernfuturesgeelong @diversitattraining @headspacegeelong @jamesmayondo
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