The Program
Dreaming stronger futures for Indigenous young people in Out of Home Care
School aged programs
During the school years, Dreaming Futures works to deliver a variety of culturally safe experiences designed to build and nurture connection with country, culture and community. We deliver culturally focussed in-school days, on-country culture days and on-country camps.
In the later years, in partnership with Indigicate we also deliver:
STEM Camps - in partnership with the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Koorie Academy of Excellence, out-of-school STEM learning experiences within a cultural context to Victorian Koorie students participating in the DET’s Koorie Academies of Excellence (KAE) program.
International Camps - each year we take a group of young people to a location in Europe to attend a Children's Rights Conference. Participation at these events helps young people understand their rights, consider the global context in which they live, and advocate for the rights of others.
On all domestic camps, we bring along employees from our partner organisations. These staff work as mentors to young people, normalising workforce participation and fostering workforce aspirations.
Future Dreamers
Give Back - Lived Experience Advocacy
Our program supports young people with lived experience of the Out of Home Care System to share their expertise through advocacy, public speaking and active participation in the Dreaming Futures Program.
Students who enter the Give Back program enable the ongoing design of our programs to meet the evolving needs of students by offering us their expertise and experience. They also support and mentor younger students, offering valuable insights.
Growing Forward - Workforce Participation
At the same time as finishing school, young people in Out-of-Home Care are also transitioning away from their foster or residential care environment into new independence. The experience can create significant stress and distress at a time when other young people continue to experience the privilege of familial support.
Using the relationships and exposure to the workplaces of our Corporate Partners, we work to support the transitions of young people from Secondary Student to Tertiary student or Employee. Our Corporate Partners offer pathways for students to enter their workforce in supported ways supported by the relationships their staff have been building with young people during their schools involvement.