Aug 25

2013-08-22 Congratulations to Andrew Penfold, Founder of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation

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My best congratulations to Andrew Penfold, Founder of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation has won the inaugural NSW Human Rights Award. He was awarded the medal by  Premier Barry O’Farrell in Parliament House today. Mr Penfold has raised more than $80 million to send hundreds of young Aboriginal people to  boarding schools and university.

Once again, congratulations to Andrew on this achievement and to the NSW Government on establishment of this important award.

 

Aug 25

2013-08-22 Congratulations to Professor J Zajda, ACHRE Treasurer, on His Fellowship

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Associate Professor Joseph Zajda, Ph.D. FACE (Education Victoria) was elected Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.Fellowship is one of the highest honours that the college can bestow. Fellows have been judged by their peers to have made a distinctive and outstanding contribution to education in Australia. The 2013 Fellowships were announced by National President-Elect, Professor Stephen Dinham (the University of Melbourne), at a gala dinner held in Melbourne on 20 June.

FACE Citation: 

Associate Professor Joseph Zajda has made outstanding contribution to research in education with particular emphasis on globalisation, gender and equity and to the enhancement of teacher education. Joseph has made an impressive contribution to educational scholarship at a national and international level for over 30 years. The breadth and volume of his scholarly achievements far exceed beyond the normal expectation of an academic. His research is innovative, engaging and influential. His publication record is most impressive: 69 works in four languages in 224 publications (7,049 university library holdings). This includes editing or co-editing many books for Springer (a major academic publisher). He brings immense research expertise to his work in the classroom. He has provided outstanding service to the profession through his editorial work. This far exceeds the formal requirements of his position. He has established a series of leading academic journals, enabling Australian scholars in the field of education to share their research with an international audience. A hallmark of his contribution to our professional is the generous support he provides to young researchers. This is clearly evident in his work with the World Council of Comparative and Education Societies, the Comparative and International Education Society and UNESCO’s International Review of Education Journal, EB member and guest-editor of special issues.

Aug 09

2013-08-08 Human Rights Education in the School Curriculum Published

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Human Rights Education in the School Curriculum Published
The all important report Human Rights Education in the School Curriculum has been published.The report was produced by Dr Nina Burridge, Executive Member of the Australian Council for Human Rights Education and Co-Director of Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre at  the University of Technology, Sydney, and her team.

The reports documents the first national Australian investigation on the place of human rights education in our schools across Australia and concludes that “Australia has still not achieved a systematic and integrated approach to human rights education. Whole school approaches to human rights remain the exception, and the implementation of human rights education initiatives is largely dependent on the interest and goodwill of individual teachers.”  /…/  “In absence of an effective integration of human rights education into the new national curriculum, Australian schools are likely to continue to find it difficult to prioritise human rights issues to the extent necessary to have a sustained impact on student learning”.

This important report needs to be brought into attention to our politicians and in particular Education Ministers both on Federal and State level.
Aug 07

2013-08-01 New LGBTI protections from discrimination (report by AHRC)

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AHRC reports on the new LGBTI protections from discrimination

Rainbow flag blowing in wind against blue sky

The Attorney-General has announced that new federal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status will commence today, 1 August 2013.

“From today, the Commission will be able to accept, investigate and resolve complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status alongside existing grounds of race, disability, age and sex,” said Commission President, Professor Gillian Triggs. “We will be able to accept complaints on these new grounds, which also extend coverage to same-sex couples, for discrimination that occurred on or after 1 August 2013.”

The Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013, which implements these changes in the Sex Discrimination Act, received royal assent in June 2013.

“Most states and territories have some form of protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” Professor Triggs said. “The significance of these federal amendments is that they introduce more inclusive definitions and address gaps – such as where acts or practices of the federal Government have not been covered in the past – and add the new ground of intersex status.”

Professor Triggs said the Commission is now looking forward to engaging with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and organisations, as well as the government and business sectors, to provide guidance on the rights and obligations provided by these new amendments.

The Commission has information on the changes on its website: www.humanrights.gov.au/new-protection