REVOLVE

Revolve was a youth research paper that was written by Dave Fagg and Vivianne Gloz while they were working with YFC. Revolve explored many issues that are still relevant to Australian youth today. Editions were produced quarterly and covered a number of issues including indigenous youth, religion, technology and sexuality.

I recently asked Dave Fagg and Vivianne Gloz if they’d be ok with me uploading them all to this site because the original documents were no longer online, I’d like to thank Dave and Vivianne for their hard work and research into these areas of Youth Work, Culture, Ministry and Participation.

Dave’s original editions can be sourced from his own website here, but I’ve included them all in this post. He’s also written a lot of other material that can be sourced from his website.

Vivianne Gloz is now working as the the Eastern Regional Co-ordinator of the Youth Referral Independent Person program, employed by CMYI and hosted by ECLC based in Box Hill.

Generation Y

“Generation Y”;, “The Millennials” and the “Echo Boomers” are terms referring to young people born roughly between 1980 and 2000. As with any description of a generation, stereotypes and generalisations about a group of people do no justice to the group in consideration. Cautious about contributing to the array of generalisations about today’s young people, this issue describes general trends and characteristics that can be correlated to the experiences of the particular group of young people that Youth for Christ Australia is wanting to reach.

Download: Generation Y, Revolve 1, March 2003 (pdf)

Young People Experiencing Risk

Young people experiencing risk include those who are presently at risk of harm. They may be involved in, or exposed to drug use, crime, homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, suicide/self-harm, early school leaving, truancy, abuse and/or neglect. This group of young people make up a large proportion of the young people YFC work with. This issue of Revolve will present various statistics regarding key issues for young people experiencing risk. It will also describe good practice program principles as highlighted in a recent study by the Australian Institute of Criminology regarding sport, physical activity and anti-social behaviour.

Download: Young People Experiencing Risk, Revolve 02, July 2003 (pdf)

Technology

This issue of Revolve focuses on major trends in young people’s use of technology and possibilities for using technology for ministry. Technology is undeniably a major part of many young people’s experiences. Technology is “changing the macroworlds that shape adolescents’ lives, the microworlds that many youth live in,” and the life that many young people aspire to (Larson, 2002). It’s also changing the way young people relate.

Download: Technology, Revolve 03, September 2003 (pdf)

Sexuality

Sexuality and sexual health is a prominent issue for young people. Adolescence is the time when young people are forming their identities, including their sexual identity, and is a time for exploring, and experimenting with sex. This issue of Revolve will discuss aspects of young people’s sexuality and sexual health and propose approaches to practice that ensure the overall health and well-being of young people.

Download: Young People, sexuality and Sexual Health, Revolve 04, December 2003 (pdf)

Youth Participation

Youth participation is about giving young people the opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns on issues that are important to them or affect their lives, listening to what they have to say and involving them in decision-making. Youth participation is currently a significant issue in youth work practice in Australia and around the world. This issue of Revolve will discuss youth participation and its relationship to Christian youth work, as well as provide frameworks and approaches to youth participation for further consideration.

Download: Youth Participation, Revolve 05, March 2004 (pdf)

Mental Health

It is the aim of this issue of Revolve to not only highlight the prevalence of mental illness amongst young people in Australia, but also to stimulate discussion around how Christian youth workers might respond to young people presenting with mental health issues, and how we can develop programs that assist in the prevention and early intervention of mental illness among young people.

Download: Responding to Mental Health Issues Amongst Young People, Revolve 06, June 2004 (pdf)

Rural Youth

Rural young people include those who are living in regional and remote areas of Australia. The experiences for young people living in rural Australia are quite different to those of urban young people. Research published recently describes the aspirations of young people in regional areas. It details the factors in rural life that impact on rural young people’s aspirations and the strategies that may be applied to sustain and enhance these young people’s aspirations. This issue of Revolve will discuss these findings and their relevance to YFC Australia and Christian Youth Workers.

Download: Influencing the Lives of Young People, Revolve 07, September 2004 (pdf)

Indigenous Youth

This edition of Revolve aims to provide information about some of the issues of working with Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) young people. It will present an analysis of the context of Indigenous young people’s lives, and how YFC Australia and Christian youth workers can respond, particularly through adjusting our way of thinking. It is hoped that this discussion will challenge some of our ambivalence about working with Indigenous young people.

Download: Anti-Oppresive Work with Indigenous Young People, Revolve 08, December 2004 (pdf)

Multiculturalism

For some, multiculturalism is not an issue. Australia seems to be handling its cultural diversity fairly peaceably, and outside metropolitan centres the percentage of overseas-born young people is negligible. Why focus on this issue? By focussing on our differences, don’t we simply encourage divisiveness? Does it have much to do with our mission to serve young people in the name of Christ?

While these questions are valid, it is also true that Australia’s diverse mix of ethnicities is a constant challenge. We have not yet resolved the tensions between the diverse cultures that inhabit Australia. As to whether multiculturalism is relevant to Christian mission amongst young people, incarnational mission requires that we take seriously the history, culture and ethnicity of the young people we serve.

Download: Christian Work in a Multicultural Society, Revolve 9, June 2005 (pdf)

Religion Part 1 & 2

Religion is hot news in Australia right now. There is a focus on ‘extremist’ religion, usually Islamic. Family First, a political party with roots in the Assemblies of God, succeeded in getting a senator elected at the last federal election. Both the Prime Minister and Treasurer have visited Hillsong Church recently. In Victoria, a race and religious vilification case has just finished. Intelligent Design, as alternative theory of origin, has garnered much media attention. But how do young people interact with issues of religion and spirituality? Do they think about their spiritual journey in the same way as previous generations? What are the differences?

Download: Religion & Spirituality I, Revolve 10, September 2005 (pdf)

Download: Religion & Spirituality II, Revolve 11, December 2005 (pdf)

Consumerism, Faith and Young People

Young people are particularly susceptible to the seductive abuse of consumerism, only having known a world where ads are ever-present, where brands signify acceptance or rejection and where banks fall over themselves to lend you the cash to participate in this divine ritual.

The Christian church is only just coming to terms with this rival for the hearts and minds of young people. Preoccupied with other foes, it has been blind-sided because, for the most part, the church has bought into the consumer circus holus-bolus.

This edition of Revolve seeks to sketch the contours of Australian consumerism and suggest a few ways forward for those seeking to be work with young people in a Christ-like way.

Download: Consumerism, Faith & Young People, Revolve 12, April 2006 (pdf)

At Risk Youth

Young people experiencing risk include those who are presently at risk of harm. They may be involved in, or exposed to drug use, crime, homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, suicide/self-harm, early school leaving, truancy, abuse and/or neglect. This group of young people make up a large proportion of the young people YFC work with.

Download: Adolescent Drug Use, Revolve 13, November 2006 (pdf)

Australian Families

As people committed to working with young people and their families, we do not have the luxury of working with families as we would like them to be. We work with Australian families as they are. And they are many and varied. Nuclear, extended, mixed, blended, gay, step, lesbian, de facto, married, divorced. Add to that the fact that families vary widely in their quality of life: from child abuse and incest through to “just liveable” through to happy and contented. Add to that the differing cultural and ethnic groups in Australia which shape families according to long-held assumptions passed down through generations. Australian families are bewildering in their variety.

Many Christian commentators seem to want to put the genie back in the bottle, to return to an imagined time when families consisted of a man and a woman, joined in loving marriage under God until death, who raised children to look after themselves and contribute to their community. This is my experience, and it may be the experience of many people reading this paper. But the reality of Australian families usually differs from this vision.

Download: Australian Families, Revolve 14, February 2008 (pdf)