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>> Innovative youth programmes in Australia

Because of the large number of workshops and the ‘low bullshit tolerance’ of young people Sydney HIP has become a melting-pot for innovation. Sydney AVP community and prison workshops have benefitted greatly from the innovation and the inclusion of restorative practice stemming from the HIP program.

AVP Youth workshops began in Australia in 1993. These workshops were called HIP (Help Increase Peace) to differentiate the youth focus from community and prisons. The HIP program throughout Australia is an integral part of AVP. HIP facilitators are fully trained in both AVP and HIP and operate under the auspices of AVP in Australia.

AVP Youth

Over the last 12 years, AVP/HIP in Sydney has developed an outstanding program called HIP (Help Increase Peace) for young people. A Behaviour Team of 12 special education teachers, who support students-at-risk with dysfunctional behaviour and emotional problems in 40 inner city schools, were trained as AVP/HIP facilitators. Led by Assistant Principal Julei Korner, they have averaged 75 HIP workshops per year for students aged 4 to 18.

They have adapted AVP/HIP processes and workshops to address the needs of various target groups

• Individual students-at-risk: participating with a group of age peers
• Dysfunctional groups: HIP Basics to build functional communities
• Marginalised minorities (e.g. Muslim, indigenous): workshops are often in partnership with their communities
• Class year programs: all students in a class year participate in a HIP Basic with some progressing to Advanced, T4F and co-facilitation. School culture and behaviour have changed dramatically
• Entire school: all teachers are trained in AVP/HIP and Restorative Practice. HIP learning styles and content are embedded in the learning process. Rozelle Public School has become a model of excellence
• Ages 4-8: TIP (Together In Peace) adapts HIP process for younger children
• Teacher training in circle learning: teaching using the HIP learning style
• Outdoor settings: wilderness workshops and indigenous youth camps
• Rainbow Circle workshops: addressing grief and loss using art and music (manual available)
• Transitioning to work: for students-at-risk, combining morning HIP with afternoon work experience
• Training teachers in HIP: other districts, states, AVP groups and Papua New Guinea
• Transforming Conflict course: this is a derivative of AVP/HIP for single teacher classes. It has reached over 50,000 Australian TAFE college students.

The AVP/HIP program draws together resources and processes from AVP, USA HIPP, Restorative Practice, Cooperative Learning, Circle Learning and Transformational Learning. It is the quality of facilitator training that is the key to the sustainability and effectiveness of the program.

Restorative Practice

Restorative practice methodology is fundamental to AVP/HIP in Sydney.

This includes the use of restorative practice questions to debrief activities, restorative listening, holding the space, the invisible facilitator, shining the light, acknowledgement rather than praise, and recognising integrative shame. For more information see the AVP wiki website below.

The HIP Keys

AVP/HIP uses a set of keys that correspond with the elements of the AVP mandala. Young people pick the laminated colored keys that are important to them and will often carry them throughout the workshop. They share how a key can unlock their situation. Young people associate ‘transformation’ with the transformer toy. They use the expression ‘HIP happens’ to encapsulate Transforming Power.

This article is a brief summary of this development. A detailed description is available at avpwiki.wikispaces.com/HIP-Sydney

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