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Indigenous students join forces for a better education

Media releases

11 September 2018

Indigenous students from across the country have come together at Sydney Olympic Park in NSW for ‘The Gathering’, an annual event connecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people from rural and remote communities to broaden their educational experiences and develop their leadership skills.

Media contacts:

Andrew Dickson | National Media Manager (National) - 0421 285 529 | andrew.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au
Carla Horton | Senior Media Advisor (QLD & WA) - 0423 618 776 | carla.horton@thesmithfamily.com.au
Reid Jermyn | Media Advisor (VIC, SA & NT) - 0412 803 566 | reid.jermyn@thesmithfamily.com.au
Ben Chenoweth | Senior Media Advisor (NSW, ACT & TAS) - 0413 346 934 | ben.chenoweth@thesmithfamily.com.au

The Smith Family is a national children’s education charity that helps young Australians experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves through harnessing the power of education. We partner with around 800 Australian schools and work with over 162,000 children and young people experiencing disadvantage access our education support programs to help them overcome . For more information, visit thesmithfamily.com.au

Organised by children’s education charity The Smith Family, this is the third event of its kind and brought together Year 9 and 10 students from 13 schools in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The students converged in Homebush for three days, during September 7-10, where they took part in cultural activities and educational workshops.

The 44 students in attendance are all part of the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (IYLP). IYLP is a scholarship program supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students living in rural and remote areas of Australia to attend a high-achieving secondary school or university, often in the largest city nearest to their homes.

Currently, The Smith Family supports more than 200 students through IYLP, half of whom are girls. The program is funded by the Federal Government as part of its commitment to closing the gap in Indigenous educational outcomes, and provides financial and other support to help students achieve their educational aspirations.

Program manager Leanne Smith says former IYLP students play a key mentoring role in The Gathering, supporting the activities and providing positive role modelling for the students.

“The Gathering brings these students together so they can meet other participants in IYLP. They share information about the communities they’ve come from and form friendships that help them through their time away from home. It’s a great opportunity to learn some new skills too,” Leanne says.

Year 9 student Roslyn, who attended the event, said: “My mum dropped out of school when she was in Year 10 but battled against the odds to return to education and become a nurse. She taught me the importance of education so when I heard about this program from others in my community, I wanted to do it too.

“Coming to Sydney is cool because I get to see so many great sights and I’ve really enjoyed all the team building games we played.”

For 16-year-old Jayden, who travelled from Alice Springs to Adelaide to attend school, the program has been an opportunity to develop his leadership skills.

“This is something I really want to do to improve myself. I’m the first one from my community to do something like this, so when I get back home I tell everyone about what I’ve learned and seen and encourage the other kids to sign up too.

“The highlight for me was seeing the Opera House. I’ve never been to Sydney before.”

Student, Jayden and program manager, Leanne Smith

The Smith Family’s work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students:

As Australia’s largest children’s education charity, The Smith Family is committed to working collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families to help close the gap in educational outcomes.
More than 17,000 children and young people from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds participate in learning and mentoring programs run by The Smith Family, such as the Learning for Life sponsorship program, the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program and Girls at the Centre.
The Smith Family’s 2017-20 Reconciliation Action Plan signals our organisation’s continued public commitment to the reconciliation process. Our vision for reconciliation is a nation where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fully benefit from the education and learning opportunities that this nation has to offer and are truly valued as the First Peoples of Australia through a deep respect and understanding by the broader Australian community.

For more information about The Smith Family’s work, visit thesmithfamily.com.au
Media Enquiries: Lisa Harmer, Media Advisor | 02 9085 7184 lisa.harmer@thesmithfamily.com.au