John Tognolini and Penny Carosi, members of Federation’s Anti Racism Committee, attended the AAR Young Australians Parliamentary Forum. They are pictured with Merlin Luck, one of the presenters. Merlin shot to fame as the ‘Big Brother’ contestant who refused to speak after his eviction in solidarity with silenced asylum seekers.

Stories show depth of understanding

By by Penny Carosi

Australians Against Racism (AAR) held a Young Australians Parliamentary Forum at Parliament House Canberra on October 6.

The forum heard stories first hand from young writers across Australia who had been awarded prizes in the nationwide competition "There is no place like home" conducted by AAR.

The stories were read by the authors in three sessions with the themes of Stories of Raw Experience, Stories of Discovery and Empathy and Stories for Tomorrow. The presentations of the 11 to 19 year olds and the depth of understanding they displayed was invigorating and their stories need to be shared with other students.

Anti Racism issues such as fair treatment of asylum seekers and refugees and reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, need to be progressed in schools and the community by teachers and others now that the Howard Government has been re-elected.

Australians Against Racism has produced a 35 page magazine of the 12 winning entries from the nationwide competition "There is no place like home" .

For further information

October 2004 contents