Senator for Tasmania, Catryna Bilyk, was unqualified in her praise of the ruMAD? program in a recent address to the Australian Senate.
“Great values are learnt by helping students to develop an awareness of how their actions positively impact on the environment and society at a local, national and global level,” Senator Bilyk said. “The Foundation for Young Australians, an organisation which aims to empower young Australians to be ‘successful learners and creative, active and valued citizens’ has done just that.”
Senator Bilyk attended an expo session of this year’s ruMAD? Youth Action Conference in late August at Rokeby High School. “I thank Rokeby High School for the invitation and the opportunity to hear directly from students learning valuable lessons about social action,” she said.
For Senator Bilyk, “[o]ne of the great things about the ruMAD? program is the amount of direction and planning that comes from the students themselves. The students had the opportunity to choose their own projects, and I could tell from their excitement that they were not only proud of their projects but had a genuine and passionate commitment to the causes they had chosen.”
“The success of the program in Tasmania is a testament to the dedication of a local organisation, the Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning,” Senator Bilyk said. “I would like to [...] acknowledge a few people for their role in making ruMAD? a success in Tasmania. First of all I wish to thank and congratulate Helen Hortle, Jeremy Picone and Karen Reid from the Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning for their stewardship of the program.”
Senator Bilyk finished her speech with a message to the students of Rokeby HS: “I hope ruMAD? has inspired you to continue making a positive contribution to your community, even after you finish your involvement in the program. I am impressed by the dedication, the consideration and the imagination that you have put into your projects. Your efforts to make the world a better place set a great example for the rest of us.”
For the full transcript of Senator Bilyk’s speech, click here
The Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning (TCGL) has been delivering the ruMAD? Program in Tasmania in partnership with FYA (previously the Education Foundation) since 2005.
TCGL empowers schools and the wider community to take action for social justice, peace, and a sustainable world future. It does this through provision of education programs, training, resources and networks. Its primary focus is supporting Tasmanian teachers to implement key aspects of the state and national curricula, specifically those that relate to responsible citizenship, sustainability, values and global perspectives.
Search
