Joni Kieft and Reverend Gorge Davies (Young People in Public Space)

Week 5 Speaker Summary
Young People in Public Space:
•Brief History of Young People in Public Space in Australia;
•Anti-Social or Pro-social - young people’s use of public space and adults’ response to it;
•It takes a village to raise a child, George Davies’ thinking around young people;
•Thinking for the future about young people and public space.

Bio
Joni Kieft completed a Bachelor of Social Science in Youth Work with a supporting major in Drama. She has worked in the youth work sector across a range of settings, including youth arts organizations, local government, the charity sector, education, and has also managed a community based youth service. She co-wrote a manual on How to put on an All Ages Community Event. In 1995, she was short listed in the WA Youth Awards in the Leadership Category. She has worked in London for the past 2 years with young people in inner city housing estates. She is presently working with the Youth Affairs council of WA acting in the role of Executive Officer.

George Davies is a graduate in Agriculture, Divinity and Education and former high school science teacher. He has worked with young people for the past 30 years in WA as a Uniting Church Minister and State Uniting Church Consultant for services. He is a co-founder of many organisations community youth including Palmerston Drug Association, the Youth Affairs Council of WA and the Perth Inner City Youth Service. George has presented papers at State, National and International Conferences on streetwork, drug and youth homelessness issues. He has shared his own home for 40 years with young people at risk.

He received the 2002 Community Services Industry Award for Outstanding Service as an Individual and is a member of the State Advisory Committee addressing homelessness and a member of Citysafe for the past ten years.