YWCA Canberra Youth Program offers a free school holiday program during each school break, which includes activities at the  Clubhouse  and the Mura Lanyon Youth and Community Centre, as well as excursions around Canberra. This winter, we organised a creative and educational program with a range of engaging activities.

During the first week, young people engaged in learning photography skills. Taking to the playground of Richardson Primary School, young people explored different photography techniques, including depth of field, composition, framing, shooting through an object, macro photography, and more. It was great to see young people who have never used a DSLR camera before, become familiar with the settings and find their style and technique. Young people also had a great time sitting back and relaxing to the iconic movie Narnia. We heated up some popcorn and enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment from talking beavers, evil witches, and of course, Mr Tumnus.

In the second week, the young people got their creative hats on and explored some inventive online programs. One of these programs was Band Lab, an online music creation platform. During this activity, young people experimented with different drumbeat sounds and layering other instruments. They learnt about tempo and beats per minute, as well as the dynamics of the sound. Another program the young people enjoyed was Roblox. For hours, the young people worked on Roblox Studio creating their maps to classic games such as hide and seek. It was amazing to see the commitment to teamwork, taking turns, and inclusion with all the young people showcasing their games to be playtested.

During the school holidays, the Clubhouse was host to the annual NAIDOC week celebration. While the official celebrations for NAIDOC Week have been postponed until November, it did not stop the Canberra community from celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture. On this day, we heard from many members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community including Dan Bourchier, Matilda House, Billy Tompkins and more. It was a great honour to host this important event in celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

The Youth team is excited to get stuck into a new term with lots of fun programs. Our Clubhouse program is now open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 3pm – 6pm. We are also opening the drop in at the Lanyon Youth Centre on Mondays and Tuesday from 3pm – 5pm. The popular A-Z program is also re-commencing, now located at the Lanyon Youth Centre on Tuesdays from 5pm – 7pm.

With our young women’s leadership program Y-Aspire, the Schools Reconciliation Challenge program, casework, and outreach, we are rearing to go for a packed term of connecting with young people.