Francis Kneebone
Training Manager for Scripture Union Queensland, Youth Ministry Internship Scheme
Written by Hang Fu on 2009-10-10
Francis is the Training Manager for SUQ and has a passion for creating quality programs for youth and children’s workers. He brings his creative approach to a number of local community and national projects including the development of sustainable programs for overseas aid and social justice youth camping programs.
What are the most important/valuable skills that graduates can bring to your industry?
We invest a lot of time developing strong interpersonal skills in our students to ensure they can support young people effectively. Graduates entering into Youth Work need to have practical skills and experience in helping processes that involve engaging clients, assessing a situation, planning an intervention, terminating the process and evaluating it. Skills in needs analysis, group work, research and professional communication are extremely valuable. For us it’s important to make sure our graduates take with them a good working knowledge of the youth work and community services industries, and are equipped with the skills to work alongside other professionals and agencies to ensure the young people they work with receive the best possible network of support.
What are the biggest challenges you and your organisation face as a member of the Brisbane media community?
Actually I feel we are well-placed. We can produce material cheaply and easily and distribute it freely online, what more could you ask for. We can compete in the marketplace of ideas for very little cost and reach an international audience.
Do you feel any media and communications sectors in Brisbane are marginalised?
In a free society like ours with such good access to technology it’s hard to see how any sector could really be marginalised. Government funding can play a big part in how things pan out, but with new media, the power is more with the people than ever before. Organisations in the sector that don’t pay attention to, invest in and take advantage of new media channels may find that they push themselves to the sidelines.
Are there any ideas, change or implementations which you feel could improve the function of Brisbane’s media industries?
Perhaps having better networking forums that were open to a broader range of organisations would facilitate improved communication and allow for greater sharing of ideas. We apply this to other areas of our business and it’s vital in creating solid working relationships and improving our services.
What features, both positive and negative, differentiate Brisbane-based media organisations to other national and international media hubs?
When you look at new media channels, Brisbane is very on par with everywhere else. While we may have smaller organisations and teams, where new media is concerned this is not the negative it used to be with old media. It encourages innovation. Old media is dying everywhere anyway so let it go.
What do you think about the comparison between new media and old media within religion?
Digital and online media and social networking sites allow organisations to have their finger on the pulse of virtually any event, trend or movement, anytime, anywhere in the world. If you want the latest news and trends, you’ll find them on Twitter long before it filters through to traditional media. Thanks to the digital revolution and greater access to technology, people have free press literally at their fingertips, with blogs, myspace, facebook and social media networks. For us these tools are vital – they allow us to stay connected with our students and deliver training and resources to students, staff and other networks across Queensland and throughout Australia. It allows us to keep our content extremely current and to engage people in our networks around key issues immediately and without the time or cost limitations of traditional media.
What changes do you see happening over the next five years in the “religion and spirituality” industry?
I expect we’ll see an increased emphasis pluralism and secularism in the public arena. Valuing diversity as a means to promote tolerance and inter-faith peace will also receive greater emphasis and we’re likely to see increased inter-faith dialogue taking place. Workers in religious and spiritual work will need to be aware of these things as it will have implications on how they carry out their work and communicate their beliefs to others. Workers will need to be aware of the different belief systems that make up our society and where their own belief system fits in with them, intersects with them and differs from them.