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Meet Ken Young
I have a background in teaching (Bachelor of Education - graduating from
the old Melbourne State College in 1977) I have always been interested
in 'Alternative Education' I taught at schools like Ardoch High
School, Swinburne Community Schools (Junior and Senior), Huntingdale Technical School as as
well as a number of country schools - Wangaratta High School, Benalla Technical
School and Benalla High School. In the 80's I was teaching 'computers'
(networks of Micro Bee's and Apple IIe's) along with history and politics.
I have always been interested in understanding the individual and social implications
of new technologies. Three early influences on my thinking were.
Firstly the regular input from the ABC Radio Science Show presenter
Robin Williams as he interviewed a range of thinkers in this field from Barry Commoner to Ralph Nader but for me most importantly Mike
Cooley of the Lucas Aerospace Workers combine - (I later read his book
Architect or Bee? The Human / Technology Relationship 1982 0-89608-131-1)
Cooley urges us to take another look at this thing called progress, to
strip away the technological jargon, and to penetrate the ideological haze
that clouds our view. He talks of empowering people to use technology
to right social ills and to do as little harm as possible to the environment.
Secondly a book by Ernest
Friedrich Schumacher, which was complied several years after his death, called "Good Work" this had a profound influence on
my thinking about the world of work and why we need ethical dimensions
in the work place. I read his more widely know book "Small is beautiful" (which was re-released in 1999 as a 25th Anniversary Edition with commentaries from different thinkers evaluating the legacy of E.F. Schumacher) subsequent to "Good Work". Another key book in similar vein was "The Future in Our Hands" by Erik Dammann which has a very strong environmental message.
Thirdly two teaching colleagues Ted Seaborn and Gary 'Gus' Guest.
Ted apart from being my Vice Principal at Huntingdale Technical School
was also my Form 5 (Year 11) Social Studies teacher at Sandringham Technical
School who inspired me to want to be a teacher and to in Teds' words "unshackle
the minds of future generations - what could be a more important task".
And Gus who talked about how and why people want to learn and finding the
key for each individual. They inspired me to want to change things
and see new horizons.
Through my teaching career I involved with the students who were
falling out of schools and becoming homeless. I worked on setting
up a Youth Accommodation service at Huntingdale Technical School.
I was then seconded out of teaching and into the field of youth homelessness. In 1989 I set up the Office of Youth Affairs Frankston-Mornington
Peninsula Youth Homelessness Taskforce. I then went on to become the
State Manager of the Youth Homelessness Taskforce program until the new Kennett Government disbanded the program in 1992. Therefore ending my secondment ended and as there were no vacancies in my original school I resigned and have generally worked full time in the community sector since then. Particularly in the area of Community based lifelong learning and information Justice. I have also had experience as a Cluster Manager at Chisholm Institute of TAFE, managing community development and welfare courses.
Fast forward to the 1990s and the Internet
I have been involved in working with the internet and teaching people to
build web pages and build online communities since 1996. In fact
I made my first web page in April 1995 whilst I was working at the Community
Development and Learning Centre in Wonthagghi. I was first introduced
to the Internet by Alan Tonkin from the CAE I just went WOW.
I could really see the potential of this tool and wanted to learn right then what
I have to do to be able to use it. I then spent an intensive period of self directed
learning to get the basics of HTML whilst reading as much as I could. In February
1996 I was employed by the Carringbush Library to be the Project Officer
for a LEAP (Landcare & Environment Action Project - a training and development program of the Commonwealth Government targeted at long term unemployed young people) Project to put the Librarys' historical photographic collection
up on the Yarranet Web site. I worked intensively with a dedicated bunch
of young people using an inadequate network of 3 computers to build the
site. I learnt about handling graphics in different formats and compressing
them for the WWW, CGI scripts, PERL language and the basics of mounting
databases on the WWW. I have to add I am not a technologist or a
particularly dedicated "Code Monkey" but I wanted to get my hands dirty.
Since then I have been very involved in the community use of the Internet
and the social equity dimensions involved building an online world. As a culmination of this I have become involved in the
Global Community Networking Partnership.
On a personal note
I am married and balance my time between Melbourne and Manchester. I have two grown up children Fiona and Lewis of whom I am very proud. One is engaged in higher learning and the other in the IT industry.
Web Words
Is a small private consulting firm providing advice to community based organisations and local government authorities in the use and development of Information and Communication Technologies to improve business information processes and service delivery for clients.
My Clients have included:
- Victorian Local Governance Association
- Association of Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres
- School - Net LTD (Sheffield, UK)
- Manchester City Council (Manchester, UK)
- Central Queensland University
- Ballylongford Enterprise Association (Co. Kerry, Ireland)
- North Kerry Together (Co. Kerry, Ireland)
- Youth Affairs Research and Development (YARD) RMIT
- SYN-FM Youth Radio Station
- Centre for Online Regional Research (CORR)
- North East Telecommunications Co-operative Ltd. - (NETCo-op)
Follow the Various Projects Link for more information about some of these and my involvement in them.
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If you are interested here is a short C.V.
Education:
Bachelor of Education (Arts)
Melbourne University 1977
Current Position:
-
Director, Web Words, a private consulting firm providing advice to not-for-
profit organisations in the use and development of Information and Communication
Technologies to improve business information processes and service delivery
for clients.
Special Interest / Expertise:
-
I am strongly committed to policy developments in the ‘community’ use of
Information and Communication Technologies that will address the emerging
split between ‘information rich and information poor’. I see great
potential for community networking to assist the economic developments
of regional Australia. I am an internationally recognised advocate
on these issues;
Skills and Experience:
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Twelve years secondary classroom teaching experience in a range of city
and rural schools. Promoted to Senior Teacher with responsibility
for Staff Professional Development;
-
Established and managed the Youth Homelessness Taskforce program in Frankston
and Mornington Peninsula region within Office of Youth Affairs;
-
State Manager of Youth Homelessness Taskforce Program within Office of
Youth Affairs. Convened Joint Commonwealth State Officers Youth Homelessness
Committee. Executive Officer for Cabinet sub-Committee on Youth Homelessness.
Provided high level advice to government, negotiated interdepartmental
agreements, funding and service agreements with NGO’s;
-
Youth Services Planning and Development Project Officer for Melbourne Citymission
Southern Region. Established Frankston Youth Skills and Activity
Centre, redeveloped South Port Intensive Youth Support Service, established
Southern Youth Employment project;
-
Research and Policy Officer for the CEO, Melbourne Citymission. Provided
high level advice to Senior Management and to the Board of Directors;
-
Programs Manager, Community Development and Learning Centre in Wonthaggi.
Ensured the delivery of lifelong learning programs to adult learners.
Directly experience of poor rural telecommunications and poor access to
Internet. Delivered New Enterprise Initiatives Scheme (NEIS) aware
of the important drivers of rural small business development;
-
Project Officer, Yarranet Youth Internet Project, training young people
in the use of Internet technology and placing local history on the Internet.
Direct understanding of barriers facing disadvantaged young people accessing
new media;
-
Manager, Community Information Victoria (CIVic), peak body for community
based information providers in Victoria. CIVic, through my leadership,
has taken a leading role in addressing issues facing information rich and
poor particularly in regional communities. Organised three Community Networking / Networking Communities conferences
the last at Ballarat University September 1999;
-
Cluster Manager - Community Work and Welfare, Chisholm Institute of TAFE. Responsible for the delivery of diploma level courses in community and welfare studies.
Committee Member:
-
Member, Telstra Consumer Consultative Council (Vic) 1997 - 2000;
-
Member, Library Board of Victoria, Library Network Sub-committee 1998 -
2000;
-
Member, Global 2000 Community Networking Celebration, International Organising
Committee;
Conference Presentations:
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Presented a paper ‘Youth Issues in Australia’ to the 1994 European Youth
Work Conference in Hässleholm, Sweden;
-
Presented a paper ‘Community Networking: A Victorian perspective’ to Local
Information on the Net Conference, State Library New South Wales, 1998
-
Presented a paper ‘Wizards of Oz: Community Networking in Australia’ to
the 2nd European Alliance for Community Networks Conference, Barcelona,
1998.
-
Presented a paper, ‘Regional Australia in the Internet Age’ to Information,
Society and Technology Conference November 1999 in Helsinki.
-
Presented a paper ‘Community Networking: Leaping the Digital Divide’ Umeå
University, Social Work & Informatics Departments, Sweden November
1999
-
Presented a paper ‘Community Networking: Paradigm for Social Inclusion’
UK Communities Online Conference, Edinburgh. December 1999
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Presented a paper ‘Community Networking: Social Inclusion strategies in
Australia’ CN Global 2000 Conference, Brussels, March 2000
-
Presented a paper ‘Using the net to support local governance: A Case Study the Victorian Local Governance Association. ies in
Australia’ CN Global 2000 Conference, Barcelona, November 2000
-
Co-presented a workshop ‘Community Networks and Cooperatives’ CN Global 2001 Conference, Beunos Aires, December 2001
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Presented a paper ‘M*Star (Multimedia Students At Risk) using Rich Media to re-engage young people' ITiRA 2002 Conference, Rockhampton, August 2002
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Presented a workshop ‘ZOPE tools for community development’ CN Global 2002 Conference, Montreal, October 2002
- Presented a workshop ‘Engaging Young people through rich media in community networks’ CN Global 2002 Conference, Montreal, October 2002
- Presented a workshop ‘The co-operative advantage in community networks’ CN Global 2002 Conference, Montreal, October 2002
Community Work:
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Bail Justice since 1990
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Chairperson - Skillsnet Association Co-operative Ltd (SNAC). From July 2001. SNAC was established in February 2000 by a network of community ICT projects as a representative peak body, providing advocacy and support services to its members. SNAC exists to promote and facilitate best practice in the use of Information and Communication Technology in community development. SNAC is a non-profit organisation. http://www.snac.asn.au/
- Board member - SYN-FM Youth Radio Station http://www.syn.org.au/
- Moderator - Myeloproliferative Disorders Australia (MPD-Oz) Mailing list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPD-OZ/
For Pictures Click here
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The URL of this page is http://www.yarranet.net.au/webwords/about-ken-main.htm
Copyright Ken Young ©1999 - 2003
This document was prepared by Ken Young April 2003.
Please read disclaimer
before acting on information listed at this site.
For further Information Email
Ken Young.