Centre celebrates Children's Week

Southern Cross University’s Centre for Children and Young People is celebrating National Children’s Week with a Kids’ Art Exhibition, featuring the work of local children, at the Lismore campus.

The Member for Page, Mr Ian Causley, will be visiting the Centre on Thursday (October 26) to view the exhibition and hear more about the work being done for children in the community.

Centre director Associate Professor Anne Graham said National Children’s Week was a way of focussing attention on the needs and achievements of children, which was also a key objective of the Centre.

“We are particularly keen on ensuring children are recognised as active participants in their families, schools and communities. We are interested in the views of children and what they have to tell us about their lives, needs and interests,” Professor Graham said.

The Centre is working closely with a number of organisations in the Mid North and North Coast regions including Interrelate, the Lismore City Council, UnitingCare Burnside, the YWCA and Coffs Kids Care.

“A lot of the activities of the Centre are really about community capacity building. We are working with services that assist children and their families to help develop programs and provide professional development opportunities,” Professor Graham said.

“We already have a range of activities in place which are assisting services in the areas of mental health, early literacy, children in separated families and transition to school for Indigenous children.”

The Kids’ Art Exhibition is focused on the theme of Children’s Week ‘Living in Lismore - what it means to me’. The art has been made available to the University through the YWCA’s Communities for Children project and the Lismore Kids’ Art Lab.

The Centre for Children and Young People was established in 2004 as a collaboration between the schools of Education and Law and Justice. Over the past two years the Centre has undertaken close to $1m worth of research projects. It is also collaborating with Childwatch International, involving researchers from New Zealand, the United States, South Africa, Brazil, Norway and Palestine.

It has hosted a number of major conferences, which have attracted speakers and delegates from throughout Australia and overseas.

Photo opportunity: Ian Causley will be viewing the exhibition and meeting with Centre staff, including the chair of the Centre’s advisory board, Adjunct Professor Judy Cashmore, at 11.30am, Level 2, B Block, Lismore campus on Thursday, October 26.

Photo: Associate Professor Anne Graham.