Voices Shaping the



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Quantitative Research


In line with a social ecology framework, this research project combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The main quantitative research instrument is a survey of Muslim youth attending the Sydney Eid festival in 2009, complemented with surveys of youth attending a Sydney Muslim school. The UTS research team booked a stall at the Eid festival, an annual event celebrating the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and coordinated the activities of

22 specially trained volunteers, who were Muslim male and female students at UTS. The volunteers and research team were easily identifiable in UTS T‐shirts, ready to administer the survey and to answer questions about the project. This event proved very successful in attracting a large number of responses from young Muslim Australian men and women. The survey questions are listed in Appendix B. A total of 392 survey responses were collected from both venues, with 332 responses from young Muslim Australians 15‐25years of age. We analyze the findings of the young Muslim Australian responses in this report.

Qualitative Research


A number of qualitative research instruments were employed in this research project, with fieldwork conducted in Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin. The qualitative research took the form of focus groups of young Muslim Australians from a wide range of cultural and linguistic heritages; focus groups with key stakeholders from Muslim communities and service providers who work with Muslim communities; in‐depth interviews of Muslim Australians and key stakeholders; and case studies where a few selected young Muslim Australians took part in repeat, in‐depth interviews.



Sydney Consultations


Two types of group consultations were conducted in the Sydney region, these being sessions with key stakeholders or service providers working with Australia’s Muslim communities, and secondly with young Muslim Australians between the ages of 15 and 25 years.


UTS ‘Voices team’ organized a Community Consultation Forum in Campsie, held on the
26 November 2009, in conjunction with five other National Action Plan researcher teams, concurrently working with Muslim Australian communities in Sydney. The consultation forum attracted services providers, professionals and Muslim Australian community leaders working with young Muslim Australians, with an additional interview conducted outside of this occasion.
Several consultations were conducted with Muslim Australian youth from different geographical regions in Sydney. These included focus groups and one to one interviews with young people from a variety of cultural and linguistic heritages, including African (Somali, Nigerian, Togo, Ethiopia), Middle Eastern (Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian, Turkish) and South Asian (Pakistani, Afghan and Indian), as well as a small number of converts to Islam of Anglo‐Australian and other backgrounds. The focus groups were held at a range of locations, including a mosque, a university, and various community centres in Sydney’s Western suburbs. These consultations sought in depth information on the voices that influence and inspire young Muslim Australians.

Melbourne Consultations


A number of consultations were held with service providers and key stakeholders, as well as younger Muslim Australians who are actively working with other Muslim Australian young people. The consultations included focus groups with:


 Service providers working in mainstream and ethno‐specific organizations, Muslim Australian community leaders and youth representatives, engaging with young Muslims,

 Muslim Australian professionals who work in the arts, media or academia. Their views were specifically sought on the ways in which young people receive information and what information or voices inspire them, and

 Muslim Australian men and women of various backgrounds, some of whom were young people, who organize and provide opportunities for cultural, expressive arts and recreational activities, as well as educational programs in the Melbourne area.

Darwin Consultations


A number of consultations were also held in Darwin. The Multicultural Council of Northern Territory, and the Multicultural Youth of Northern Territory, as well as community volunteers within the Somali community living in Darwin, facilitated these interviews and community forums. Sessions included consultations with:


 Service providers working in some way with Muslim Australian families and / or youth, e.g. health workers, personnel from government agencies and non‐government organizations, as well as participants from Australia’s Muslim communities,

 Focus groups and one to one interviews of people directly engaging with Muslim Australian youth. This group included youth workers, community arts workers, school counselors, personnel in refugee services and Muslim Australian community elders of Somali background,

 Muslim Australian young men from South Asian (representing more established communities) and Somali background (representing newer emerging communities), and a group of young Somali women,

 One to one interview of a key stakeholder working with refugee populations.



4. Quantitative Analysis


This section presents the results of the survey of young Muslim Australians in Sydney, the quantitative research instrument employed in this project. An extensive questionnaire was posted online and promoted widely with a series of postcards distributed through Muslim community networks in NSW, and Victoria. The items in this questionnaire were reviewed and approved by DIAC. Very few responded to this online survey. Hence a shorter version of the questionnaire (Appendix B), a subset of the longer one was developed to survey Muslim youth attending the Sydney Eid Festival and Fair in 2009 as detailed above. This approach proved very successful at attracting responses from young Muslim men and women. Complementing these were additional surveys of youth attending one of Sydney’s Muslim schools. The response rate of these was considered acceptable.





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