Page 3096 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 August 2005

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Dr Foskey’s proposed amendments labour under the misapprehension that the commissioners are only co-locating rather than, as we have already indicated, operating corporately as members of the commission. Therefore, the government will be opposing these amendments.

Amendments negatived.

Clause 13 agreed to.

At 6pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for the next sitting. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly was put.

Adjournment

Courage to care program and exhibition

MS MacDONALD (Brindabella) (6.00): I would like to bring to the attention of the Assembly a program that is operating in Canberra called the Courage to care program and exhibition. It is running at National Archives of Australia from 13 August to 25 September.

Courage to care is a multifaceted travelling program that emphasises the importance of standing up against human injustice. A racial tolerance education program directed towards students from years 5 to 12, Courage to care uses a mixture of real life stories from Holocaust survivors, memorabilia and audiovisual presentations to demonstrate the difference one person can make. The exhibition is open to the public and volunteers are available throughout the week to discuss the displays with visitors.

Starting with the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, the education program relates these historic events to issues facing today’s students, including bullying, stereotyping, racism, and aboriginality. Developed by the international Jewish service organisation B’nai B’rith, which is represented in 51 countries, the program has been seen by nearly 155,000 Australians, including 55,000 students.

The program has operated in New South Wales since 1998. It was developed with major enhancements from a model used in Victoria since 1992 and is regularly evaluated and updated. It has travelled to towns and cities in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. This is the first time the Courage to care program has run in the ACT and I encourage everyone to take the time to visit it.

The aim of Courage to care is to educate Australians about the positive outcome of racial harmony and the importance of individuals standing up against discrimination, racism and oppression. It also raises awareness of the Holocaust and draws attention to the heroism of the righteous among nations, which is a title given to extraordinary individuals, some famous, others not, who took an enormous personal risk to rescue Jews and others facing persecution and peril.


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