Community Engagement
Coordinated by Dr Zeny Edwards:
In parallel with our linked organisation, World Citizens Association of Australia, we aim
- To acknowledge the intrinsic value of the human spirit and promote the universal commitment to work together as members of the global community sharing a common humanity
- To encourage communitiesto discuss ideas, share stories and inspire others to actively make the world a better place.
- To raise awareness of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their potential to fulfil the promise of creating a better world by 2030.
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Activities
Information Dissemination:
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Mark World Observance Days to promote peace, social justice, human rights and cultural diversity to the maximum target audience available.
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Organise Briefing Nights to keep abreast of the latest developments and programs relevant to promoting world citizenship
Engagement:
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Create opportunities for corporations,non-profits, government, universities, industry bodies, social enterprises and grassroots organisers to discuss solutions to current challenges affecting world citizenship.
Empowerment:
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Organise, or in partnership with other organisations and stakeholders, activities and programs that promote social cohesion and leadership within the community.
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Reachout
Institute for Economics and Peace (https://www.economicsandpeace.org/)
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newDemocracy Foundation (https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/)
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The Social Outfit (https://thesocialoutfit.org/collections/clothing)
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Moral Fairground (https://moralfairground.com.au/)
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Australian Council for Human Rights Education (https://humanrightseducationaustralia.com/)
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Australian Institute for International Affairs (NSW) (http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/)
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Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney (https://www.centrepeaceconflictstudies.org/)
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Sydney Democracy Network (http://sydneydemocracynetwork.org/)
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Sydney Peace Foundation (https://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/)
KAPWA PROGRAM
KAPWA PROGRAM
KAPWA (which means “together” in Tagalog) is a program to establish a peer-to-peer support group among international students,
managed by students for students.
Our KAPWA Committee is led by our IGPSG Management Committee
Charlene Cai, Director, Community Engagement
David Delos Reyes, Director for Social Cohesion and Inclusion
Sophia Maranan, Assistant Director, Social Cohesion and Inclusion
Please support this program which we will launch in July 2022.
Donations are tax deductible to the IGPSG Trust. (Via Donations page)
Read about KAPWA and an interview profile of Sophia Maranan, leading coordinator of the IGPSG Management Committee of KAPWA
KAMP HIRAYA
Describe your image
IGPSG sponsored Kamp Hiraya, which was successfully held recently in the Blue Mountains NSW. Hiraya is an outreach program organised by the Filipino Student Council of NSW, in response to International student David Joshua Delos Reyes, Chairman of Filipino Student Council of NSW's invitation to support the youth summer camp to be held in June at the Blue Mountains in NSW.
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‘Hiraya’ means ‘to dream’ in the Filipino language and the long-planned event will provide an opportunity for Filipino student leaders across Australia to gather under one roof to dream for a sustainable future for the young generation of Filipinos not only in Australia but the world.
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The Filipino Student Council of NSW is a non-for-profit organisation based in Sydney whose vision is to promote Filipino culture in the Filipino-Australian context and create opportunities for Filipino-Australian youth and students to learn more about their culture, their potential and share their own experiences to impact the lives of others, Delos Reyes said.
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Delos Reyes said, “We are aiming to at least have 80 student leader delegates from different Filipino student organisations in Australia. As big as we want it to be, we do acknowledge the fact that we are a group of students and we have financial challenges as a group. We kindly ask our titos and titas, ates and kuyas among the Filipino community to be with us and support this ‘hiraya’ of our young generation.”
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Delos Reyes said, “If we believe in the very words of Philippine national hero Dr Jose Rizal, ‘The youth is the hope of the nation’, then we highly encourage you to help us make this dream come true. Together, we shall plant seeds and reap its bountiful harvest in the future."
GAWURA SCHOOL
To commemorate the International Decade for Indigenous Languages, IGPSG was delighted to respond to the proposal to provide more resources for the teaching of the Wiradjuri language to the students of Gawura School at St Andrews School.
Gawura is a unique, coeducational Kindergarten to Year 6 day school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who live at home with their families.
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Engagement of Gawura families, parents and carers is critical to Gawura's success.
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Gawura is a highly regarded model for Indigenous education, offering students a supportive, nurturing space where they feel secure, are surrounded by culture and language, and can learn at their own skill level. Students achieve academic milestones daily and grow in their abilities in academic subjects, sport and the arts.
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The 32 Gawura students are supported by government funding and through the generosity of donors. Eight secondary students are 95% funded by individuals and families, corporates and foundations.
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According to Principal John Ralph, “Teaching the Wiradjuri language includes teaching the backstory, history and customs that go with Wiradjuri as well. We have seen a wonderful sense of empathy and true understanding from the non-Indigenous students of St Andrews Junior School towards the Aboriginal students of Gawura School."
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Gawura’s mission is to provide a quality Kindergarten to Year 6 education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in a caring, Christian environment. The emphasis is on high standards of literacy, numeracy and social skills that are foundations for life.
All graduates of Gawura are offered scholarships to St Andrew’s Cathedral School for secondary education. St Andrew’s vision is to inspire students to be passionate, creative learners who engage with the message of Christ and fully develop their gifts and abilities in order to serve in the world.
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY ON-LINE TRIVIA
DECEMBER 10, 2021
Human Rights Day Trivia Event was a huge success and a lot of fun!
Winners were David Joshua Delos Reyes, Chris Leong
and Mai Ni Pham
Click on our EVENTS page to find out the next event.
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Human Rights Day created awareness of human rights issues, which inspired people to appreciate what they have, and strived to make sure that all people enjoy human rights equally. A great way to make a difference was to bring human rights to your own school.
IGPSG Vice-president and Director for Education, Dr Daryl Le Cornu inspired a group of students and teachers at Mt Annan High School to teach us a thing or two about stirring enthusiasm for human rights change.
The school's Human Rights Action Group meets every week during recess and shares human rights information through their Facebook page, where they discuss and debate human rights issues and start thinking about solutions to what's happening all around us.
Shining a light on our local heroes
From Gay Alcorn, Editor of The Age
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/shining-a-light-on-our-local-heroes-20211001-p58wj6.html
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We have done many of these stories. At the end of last winter’s lockdown - how long ago it seems - we launched Marvellous Melbourne, an unashamed celebration of all our city has to offer.
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Now, we are publishing a series called “Local Heroes”. I tried to avoid the word “hero” because it’s overused and most people doing good things don’t think of themselves as heroes at all. But we couldn’t think of something better.
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It is designed to shine a spotlight on people who are controlling what they can control. The loss of control, the uncertainty, has been one of the biggest challenges during this pandemic. So for individuals or organisations to use what control they can muster to make a difference for themselves or for others can be inspiring. The Age also publishes a newsletter called Greater Good, which compiles stories that you may have missed in the blitz of the daily news.
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Here are a few stories we have published recently that seek to celebrate the best of humanity, or the most amusing, or the truly quirky.
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Senior writer Tony Wright wrote about jazz singer and violinist Fem Belling, who is preparing for the return of live music. She has a pop-up mobile jazz club ready to roll.
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Cassandra Morgan reported on three Melbourne year 9 students, Jack, Darcy and Wesley, who set up CovidBaseAU to track coronavirus data. They at first wanted to keep their age secret for fear they would not be taken seriously. Now, CovidBaseAU is a website and has more than 26,000 Twitter followers.
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“We were like, well, if these other people can do it, there’s no reason we can’t,” Jack said.
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Lastly, from Good Food, a lovely story about Solidarity Pancakes, a pandemic cook-up dreamed up by VicHealth CEO Dr Sandro Demaio. What started as a Sunday morning ritual to cook pancakes for his partner Olivia, a doctor, and his 98-year-old grandmother, Bette, was shared online, and Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver gave it their approval. Hundreds of others have joined in as an act of solidarity with our healthcare workers.
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Do send us ideas about people or groups doing extraordinary things. They can be tiny acts of kindness, or large projects that reach thousands. After we began Local Heroes, we realised how many there are.
October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION ASSOCIATES (HREA)
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http://hrea.org/learn/resource-centre/
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HREA is an international non-governmental organization that supports human rights education; the training of human rights defenders and professional groups; and the development of educational materials and programming. HREA is dedicated to quality education and training to promote understanding, attitudes and actions to protect human rights, and to foster the development of peaceable, free and just communities.
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HREA works with individuals, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations and governments interested in implementing human rights education programs.
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October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In a world where there are 689 million people living in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day, it is crucial to raise awareness and educate ourselves, as well as others, on this human rights violation.
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HREA has collected a total of 234 resources on the socio-economic human rights that are linked with access to adequate resources. You can will find handbooks, manuals, webinars, podcasts, and other multimedia resources on the right to housing, right to health, right to education, right to food and water, and poverty. We invite you to explore the HREA Online Resource Center for additional educational materials related to human rights education, training and advocacy and to consider sharing your own resources by submitting to HREA's Resource Center here.
Join us in renewing a commitment to working against poverty and raising awareness of poverty as a prevalent and widespread global challenge today! Please also stay tuned for an announcement about our upcoming webinar on October 15th at 10:30 a.m. EDT in celebration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. More information to follow! You can already pre-register here.
International Day of Peace 2021
21 September 2021
2021 Theme: Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world
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In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.
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The pandemic is known for hitting the underprivileged and marginalized groups the hardest. By April 2021, over 687 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 100 countries have not received a single dose. People caught in conflict are especially vulnerable in terms of lack of access to healthcare.
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In line with the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire last March, in February 2021 the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for Member States to support a “sustained humanitarian pause” to local conflicts. The global ceasefire must continue to be honoured, to ensure people caught in conflict have access to lifesaving vaccinations and treatments.​
The pandemic has been accompanied by a surge in stigma, discrimination, and hatred, which only cost more lives instead of saving them: the virus attacks all without caring about where we are from or what we believe in. Confronting this common enemy of humankind, we must be reminded that we are not each other’s enemy. To be able to recover from the devastation of the pandemic, we must make peace with one another.
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And we must make peace with nature. Despite the travel restrictions and economic shutdowns, climate change is not on pause. What we need is a green and sustainable global economy that produces jobs, reduces emissions, and builds resilience to climate impacts.
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The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. We invite you to light a candle for peace in your home as we focus on recovering better for a more equitable and peaceful world. Lighting a candle for peace shows that we are united as a global family against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.
Happening in early 2022
EMPOWER ME Forum: Stopping Sexual Harassment before it Starts. Ensuring the basic human right to live, to be free and to be safe.
The Institute for Global Peace and Sustainable Governance is privileged to sponsor the EMPOWER ME Forum: Stopping Sexual Harassment before it Starts in 2022. Ensuring the basic human right to live, to be free and to be safe.
A project of the The Australian Council for Human Rights Education, the forum will address the fundamental human right to be safe from sexual harassment at home, at school, at work and in the community. The past months have seen a renewed focus on how we, as a community, address sexual violence and harassment. Recent public scrutiny of institutional responses to sexual violence has drawn close public attention on the issues, and more people have lent their voices to the call for prevention efforts to be strengthened. Sexuality Education, Proactive Legislation, Cultural Change, a new Integrity Framework and other urgent priorities will be crucial to the interactive dialogues between the audience and leaders in their fields. son, Senior Prosecutor with the Sexual Offences Unit of the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions.In keeping with the Australian Council for Human Rights Education objectives, this forum aims to explore and promote the right of all people to access comprehensive relationships and sexuality education.
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An impressive panel of experts and well-respected leaders in the field of Sexuality Education and the latest research on issues regarding sexual harassment will lead the discussions and encouragement interaction with the audience.
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The face-to-face forum will be held in early 2022 (Covid restrictions permitting) at the Sibyl Centre, the Women's College within the University of Sydney.
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The Australian Baha'i Community warmly invites you and representatives of your organisation to attend the third annual National Social Cohesion and Inclusion Conference. These conferences aim to explore the approaches, methods and experiences that can guide our country to foster greater social cohesion and inclusion into the future.
See highlights from previous conferences
This past year the global health crisis has affected us all and caused many to reflect on our way of life. We have grown increasingly conscious of how interconnected we are. How does this heightened sense of interconnectedness find expression in our efforts to be a more inclusive and socially cohesive society? How do we move from an acceptance of diversity towards harmonisation? How do we invite the participation of growing numbers in a collective conversation?
Keynote speakers to be announced
Conference details:
Date: 12 October 2021
Time: 10 am - 1 pm AEST
Conference sessions:
Session 1: Inclusion & Diversity (Opening & Keynote Address, and Q&A)
Session 2: Consultation (Panel Discussion and Q&A)
Session 3: Sharing Insights and Experiences (Workshop & Plenary)
Presenters at the forefront of thinking and experience will share insights from which all can benefit to shape future action and refine current endeavours. Ample time has been allocated to enable interaction between the audience and presenters during Q&A. All those attending will be encouraged to actively participate and offer insights and experience during intimate small group discussions as part of the program.
Register to Attend
Registrations Close 1 October 2021
173 Mona Vale Road, Ingleside NSW, Australia
02 9998 9222
Share on social
Social Cohesion Website
The end of the 9/11 era
The withdrawal of the US military forces from Afghanistan marks the end of the 9/11 era of US foreign policy. Yet in many ways, the world still lives under the long shadow of the September 11 attacks and the consequences of the War on Terror.
Join us for a conversation with Dr Meghan O’Sullivan, the former special assistant to President George W Bush and later Deputy National Security Advisor on Iraq and Afghanistan. She will speak with Lowy Institute Research Fellow Lydia Khalil about how September 11 has shaped America’s foreign policy stance in the two decades since the attacks - and how it will define global affairs into the future.
Dr Meghan O'Sullivan is the Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Dr O’Sullivan was special assistant to President George W. Bush and served as Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lydia Khalil is Research Fellow in the West Asia Program at the Lowy Institute and manages its partnership with the Global Network on Extremism & Technology. She was international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and served as a political advisor for the US Department of Defense in Iraq. She is the editor of the Lowy Institute feature digital debate Did 9/11 change our world?
Registration is essential. Please register here to receive your personal confirmation link.
Broadcast via Zoom:
SYDNEY: Wednesday 8th September | 5:00pm to 6:00pm AEST
TOKYO: Wednesday 8th September | 4:00pm to 5:00pm JST
BEIJING: Wednesday 8th September | 3:00pm to 4:00pm CST
TEL AVIV: Wednesday 8th September | 10:00am to 11:00am IDT
LONDON: Wednesday 8th September | 8:00am to 9:00am BST
WASHINGTON: Wednesday 8th September | 3:00am to 4:00am EDT
All Lowy Institute public events are on the record and open for media attendance.
Watch/listen to recent Lowy Institute events online:
The withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden Doctrine and America’s global role
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Video recording
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Audio recording
In conversation with Richard Haass
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Video recording
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Audio recording