Case Study of the 2011 Garma Festival Youth Forum: Strengths, Challenges and Implications for Policy and Practice

This case study was nested within a larger project commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCHSIA) that aims to facilitate better policy and practice in the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. The need for improvement in this area is clearly evident in their much higher prevalence of negative outcomes across most measures of health, education, employment and involvement in the justice system. These measures indicate a higher exposure of Indigenous youth to the causes and consequences of low social and emotional wellbeing, as well as a lack of opportunity to recognise and build on personal strengths and capacity to achieve their full potential. A systematic literature, policy and program review revealed both a need and an enormous opportunity to enhance understanding of the strengths and challenges faced by those working on the ground, to share their knowledge and ideas on what kind of supporting mechanisms would maximise their growth and sustainability. Six case studies were completed to harvest this information across a range of program contexts and provide practical, useful and highly supported recommendations for policy, resource allocation and practice about what works, how and why. This report describes findings from the 2011 Garma Festival Youth Forum, one of the six case studies that collectively contribute to better understanding of how the universal strengths and positive potential of young Aboriginal people, whatever their circumstances, can be successfully and sustainably fostered.