Fusion International is a cooperative of like-minded Christian youth and community centres in various countries around the world committed to the same values, principles and vision. Its vision statement is "Bringing young people and communities together with hope". Fusion was originally started in Australia in the early 1960s to help meet the needs of dis-enfranchised young people. Fusion was founded in Australia by Mal Garvin, who retired in 2009 following allegations of sexual misconduct. As a largely volunteer organisation, it broadened its focus in the 1990s to various community needs and at one stage had over 30 centres around Australia. There are currently 15 centres around Australia. In 2003 it began its first centres outside of Australia, with work in England and then Greece. There are now groups of people undertaking Fusion's work in over 15 countries. These include Albania, Canada, England, Ghana, Greece, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, India, Nepal, Indonesia and Jamaica. Representatives from these different works meet together annually under the umbrella of Fusion International to support and encourage the development of this work.

Teams and centres

Fusion's services focus on

community building Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area (such as a neighborhood) or with a common need or interest. It is often encompassed under the fields of c ...

, finding a sense of purpose and a Christian values base. Fusion's centres are established in response to research of local needs. In Australia this has led Fusion into outreach and support services such as drop-in centres and youth cafes, lunchtime programs in schools, accommodation and dwelling programs for youth and families, arts and crafts and social activities for isolated women, parenting programs for young single parents, mentoring and other special programs for teenagers who are not fitting into the school system, employment training schemes,

outdoor education Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and out ...

programs, community festivals designed to build connection in fragmented towns and suburbs, vocational rehabilitation, radio and print media and contributing to

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

development and action.

Training programs

Fusion Australia Ltd is a

Registered Training Organisation A registered training organisation (RTO), in Australia, is an organisation providing Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses to students, resulting in qualifications or statements of attainment that are recognised and accepted by indus ...

, providing nationally accredited training within the

Australian Qualifications Framework The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Industry, with oversight from the States and Territo ...

. Fusion runs a Certificate IV in Youth and Community Work (Christian). Fusion also trains educators to work in both first world and developing countries, developing

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

skills to equip communities to be healthier. The intention of the community development programs is to work with local nationals and

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

. The programs are designed to be transferable, reproducible and self-sustaining.

References

Channel café
Bingham, Al., YAPRap, August 2004, Youth Action and Policy Association New South Wales
Fusion Australia Hornsby Facilities
Hopwood J., Hansard, Parliament of New South Wales, 14 September 2005
Fusion Australia Campsie Café
, Moss, Kevin; Lo Po, Faye, Hansard,

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

, 14 September 2005
Database on vocational education and training in Australia
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231347/http://www.ntis.gov.au/Default.aspx?%2FRTO%2F3388 , date=3 March 2016 , National Training Information Service

External links

Fusion Australia websiteFusion UK websiteFusion Canada website
Charities based in Australia Year of establishment missing Non-profit organisations based in Victoria (Australia)