The Postcards to the Advocate report is based on the initiative that explored the many hopes and concerns children and young people have for their futures. The aim of the report is to share the insightful information that ACYP gained from the hundreds of postcards we received and showcase it in a way that maintains the voices of the participating children and young people. The themes explored in the report are solely based on what was shared through writing and drawings on the postcards.
The Postcards to the Advocate initiative was launched during Children’s Week 2022, where postcards with the prompt “What are your hopes for the future” were sent out to schools and organisations that had expressed interest in participating. The initiative received postcards from 677 children and young people from 24 schools across NSW. During the period from October 2022 to April 2023 the initiative engaged with children as young as three years old.
The responses to the hopes for the future prompt facilitated a range of very diverse answers, with children and young people focusing on many different things. The majority of the postcards mentioned at least one of the themes that are highlighted in this report. The key themes shared in the report include:
Many young people shared their personal hopes for their career, academic success, hobbies and health. Hopes included “to be a policeman and look after people” and “I hope I can change someone’s life with my art. I hope to tell stories that inspire people.”
Children and young people also demonstrated their awareness of the negative impact humans are having on the environment, inequality in their communities and the financial struggles of many. Their hope for the future is that action and change has been taken towards these issues, that so many individuals experience. An example this is the hope to “solve climate change and inequality”.
We hope you enjoy this report and take the time to take in the variety of hopes and concerns children and young people have for the future.
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NSW Advocate for Children and Young People
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The Advocate for Children and Young People is under the DCJ ABN 36 433 875 185.
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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, ACYP is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
