Oranga Tamariki welcomes AYJC 2021 Online

Teams calls, Zoom hui and other video interactions are nothing new, but the online experience is stepping up a notch with three days of international youth justice-related content coming to you live online this November.

The Australasian Youth Justice Administrators (AYJA) have decided that the Australasian Youth Justice Conference 2021 (AYJC 2021) will be an exclusively online conference.  Oranga Tamariki is the host agency for this year’s conference and were part of making this decision alongside our conference partner, University of Auckland.

The three-day conference will explore the theme Delivering Youth Justice for the Community, by the Community with over 50 presentations and five keynote presenters. Sessions will run from 11am to 5.30pm (NZT) to allow delegates from across Australia to join in live.   

Conference planning was well advanced to deliver a face-to-face event that highlighted community-led innovation. However, after much deliberation over the current COVID-19 situation in New Zealand and Australia and the impact on international travel, AYJA decided in July to pivot the conference to a virtual format, confirmed Phil Dinham, Director of Youth Justice System Development and chair of the AYJA Conference planning committee.

“The decision was made to ensure the safety of those taking part during COVID and their communities as well as enabling more people to be involved. Moving to online allows us to invite more people to take part as the physical space and costs of travel for some AYJA members were factors limiting how many could participate.

It was also really important to us that everyone who attended had the same experience. We looked at hybrid options, with New Zealanders still getting together in Auckland. However, we had all been the person on a Teams call while everyone else is in a room together, and we didn’t want that experience for people joining the Conference. Especially when so much of the kaupapa is about connection and building an Australasian youth justice community," said Phil.  

AYJA is excited to be entering the digital space for the first time and delivering AYJC 2021 Online.  The University of Auckland uses an exciting and well-established online platform that lifts the virtual experience above the many video calls most of us have become familiar with. 

The programme is available online and the plan is to provide the same exceptional line-up of keynote speakers and concurrent streams of oral, panel and poster presentations that we would have in person. There will also be opportunities for interactive Q&A sessions, networking hubs and access to recorded presentations and exclusive content during and after the conference.

To register for AYJC 2021 Online, please visit the Conference website. Places are $195 each or $100 for students. If you are part of a community organisation supported by Oranga Tamariki to provide youth justice services to young people, families or victims of youth crime in your local community, please email the Youth Justice team as you may be eligible for a sponsored place.