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Panel tackles Indigenous issues for O-Week
Does Indigenous success equal Australian success? That will be the hot topic of a panel session tomorrow, Thursday 21 July, as part of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Semester 2 Orientation Week.
USC Indigenous Employment Coordinator Henry Neill, Indigenous education consultant Denise Proud and Caboolture-based Toby Adams of QUT’s Stronger Smarter Institute will spark the discussion from 1-2pm at the USC Art Gallery Piazza.
Henry Neill’s son Kerry will play didgeridoo and conduct storytelling for an hour before the panel talk, which is one of 10 being held at university sites across Australia as part of National Hoodie Day in support of AIME, a national Indigenous student mentoring program.
AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) Sunshine Coast program manager Monique Proud encouraged USC students, staff and community members to participate in the talks and artwork or buy a branded blue hoodie to raise money for the program.
AIME started at USC this year and already has more than 60 of the University’s students providing one-on-one mentoring for Indigenous Year 9 and 10 students between Sunshine Beach and Beerwah.
“They’re mostly Education and Health students but students from any of the University’s courses can become volunteers,” Ms Proud said.
“The high schoolers come to campus every Tuesday morning for the structured partnership program, which is designed to improve Indigenous high school completion rates and university admission rates.”
She said most of the volunteer mentors were not Indigenous and gained extensive cultural knowledge and understanding as well as enhanced skills.
– Julie Gatehouse