The Youth Voice Project (2007) was a peer research project led by the Youth Affairs Council Victoria, which came out of a collaboration of over 13 government departments, philanthropic organizations and agencies that work with young people.  The project was undertaken in three areas in Victoria, and demonstrated how having young people involved in conducting research on their peers was both beneficial in terms of the research collected, and an empowering experience for the young people involved.

The project helped participants to develop skills involved with designing and conducting research, data collection, interpreting data, and presentations.  This experience provided them with opportunities to develop confidence while also applying planning and time management skills.

UCCE hosted one of these sites and is now working on the second phase of the program where we will train a second round of young people as researchers.  This project locally is in partnership with the LLEN (Local Learning and Employment Network).