Speakers for next year

Great list of speakers at the 13th National Conference on Volunteering Program has now been released!  

• Mr Bernard Salt,leading commentator and advisor on consumer, cultural and demographic trends who has earned an international reputation as a trend forecaster for business and government
• Ms Elaine Bradley, CEO of Volunteering Ireland
• Professor Peter Shergold AC, Macquarie group Foundation Professor at the Centre for Social Impact
• Senator Ursula Stephens, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector
• Mr Patrick McClure AO, Ethics Fellow, Not-For-Profit Sector(a joint initiative of the Centre for Social Impact, University of New South Wales and the St James Ethics Centre).
• Kenn Allen founder and president of the Civil Society Consulting Group LLC
• Sarah Hayes Director of the Global Corporate Volunteer Council, International Association for Volunteer Effort (USA)
• Mr Ron Edwards, Australian Social Inclusion Board Member, Board member of the Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation
• click above to read more

Kismet Forward Progressing People and Projects

Kismet Forward is about progression: facilitating communities, organisations and individuals to move forward, building on what they do well.This includes:

• Developing, managing and evaluating strategic projects,
• Park Planning,
• Engaging communities,
• Facilitating workshops, and
• Coaching emerging leaders.  click to read more

Innovative Leadership

Innovative Leadership works across Australia, on a range of projects as diverse as national consultations on Indigenous health issues, regional economic and community revitalisation, and industry planning. The Innovative Leadership team offers extensive experience in working with rural and regional areas of Australia, and the capacity to undertake national, state and regionally based projects.

Life - Living is for eveyrone

Rural and remote Of Australia’s 20 million people, 66% live in capital cities, towns or other major metropolitan centres - the remaining 6 million people are spread out across 8 million square kilometres, living in what are referred to as rural or remote areas (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2004). 
Rates of suicide and suicide attempts are higher in rural and remote populations of Australia, with very remote regions having suicide rates more than double that of major capital cities (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010).
A number of factors contribute to the high suicide rates in rural and remote areas including:
to read more click the above link. 

RAS NSW Foundation Scholarchips Program

BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR RURAL NSW
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Foundation launches 2010 scholarships program
The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation is searching for passionate and enthusiastic people who are determined to make a difference in their rural communities.
 Click here to find out more

Regional Arts Fund 2011

Applications are now being accepted for the Regional Arts Fund (NSW), one
of the key funding sources for arts and cultural activities in regional, rural and
remote communities of NSW.
Funding is available for 2011 projects in the categories of New Initiatives,
Partnerships and Residencies and Mentorships. Funding is available for one or two
year projects. Applications for the Regional Arts Fund (NSW) close on Friday 13
August 2010.
Talk to Arts OutWest for advice on putting together an application and for a letter of
support for your project.
Information packs including instructions, guidelines and application forms for the
Regional Arts Fund are available and can be downloaded from the Regional Arts
NSW website

http:www.regionalartsnsw.com.au/grants/raf

http://www.regionalartsnsw.com.au/grants/raf.html

http://www.regionalartsnsw.com.au/news/2009/RAF%20NSW%202010.pdf

Funding and Grant Websites

Here are a few places where you can find funding or a bit of help finding funding for Community Projects.

http://www.fundbase.com.au/ 

http://australia.gov.au/topics/culture-history-and-sport/arts/arts-grants

http://community.grantready.com.au/
http://www.government-grant.com.au/

http://www.grantslink.gov.au/

Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability Report

Expectations for industries to manage resources in a sustainable manner raise the question of how industries can demonstrate their sustainability credentials. This thesis reviews the question of sustainability monitoring and reporting in relation to the Australian cotton industry. Principals of sustainability reporting in business and agriculture were reviewed.
A set of sustainability indicators has been developed and economic, environmental and social data compiled. A specific analysis of the cotton industry’s environmental management system, the Cotton Best Management Practices program was completed to investigate its potential to track and report farm management practice change over a 10 year period.

Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation Scholarships

The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation is searching for passionate and enthusiastic people who are determined to make a difference to rural and regional Australia.


The RAS Foundation has launched a new series of rural scholarships, of up to $5,000 each, to assist people in NSW who are passionate about rural issues to pursue their dreams of higher education, in turn creating a strong and vibrant community for the future.

Also open for applications is the third annual J B Fairfax Award for Rural Journalism. The $10,000 Award encourages students across Australia to pursue a career in rural journalism and tell the stories of Australian agriculture.

It is easy to apply. See the website for details: www.rasf.org.au/whatwedo/scholarship.html

Applications close on 30 September 2010. Funding will be provided for the 2011 academic year.

Please contact the RAS Foundation on 02 9704 1234 or foundation@rasf.org.au with any questions.

Supporting Teenagers with Education Mothering and Mentoring

This is a program being run in Queensland to support pregnant girls and young mothers in a safe, non-judgemental environment with individual support plans developed by trained case managers.
Each girl will be given the opportunity to develop Lifeskills, Parenting, Self Worth, Healthy Relationships, Pre and Post Birth Plans.  In Partnership with Education Queensland, TAFE and the University of the Sunshine Coast, girls will be able to engage with learning pathways towards certified outcomes.  All girls are given the opportunity to develop their Mothering Skills through access to a variety of experts involved in Materntity Services, Breastfeeding and Child Health.   Girls are individually matched with carefully selected and trained mentors.
This is an interesting project something totally different from others that have been run for young women.

Survey participants needed from Rural and Remote Areas

Survey participants needed: Living & working in rural and remote communities


The Living & Working in Rural and Remote Communities study explores the management of tensions in work-life balances for professionals not only having statutory responsibilities in health, education, human and police services, but also living in the rural and remote communities they serve. It aims to generate new knowledge about: how professionals and their local communities can forge productive links to enhance collaboration and service delivery; and factors contributing to professionals’ training, recruitment and retention in such communities. The project is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Projects grant.

Survey respondents can enter the draw to win a $100 gift card.

FIND OUT MORE: Website: Link to survey. For further information or assistance in completing the survey, please contact: Natalie Clements, Senior Research Assistant, Griffith University on 07 3382 1134 or N.Clements@griffith.edu.au
From QCOSS enews Issue 24

The Shiny Halo

Central NSW Councils have set up a blog the Shiny Halo Blog - an initiative to encourage action for a more resilient future.  They have some really interesting things that are going on in their councils and are sharing them in this blog.  You can read about what Organisations, councils, individuals, community groups, businesses and schools are doing for a more resilient future.  Items of interest include:  Electric Vehicle Challenge, Tree Xchange, Totally Local & 100 Mile Diet, Zero Emissions Agriculture.  Read about individuals like Charles Dalglish and his Electric Vehicle. Or community group Central West Permaculture "permablitzes".  "Central Tablelands Water takes a stand against bottled water!" read this story and more at the above link.  They also want to hear from your community.

Golden Gurus Grants

Golden Gurus, an Australia 2020 Summit initiative, brings together a diverse range of quality organisations to link the expertise of mature age mentors (50 and over) with community organisations or start-up businesses. Click the above link for more information on this program and to see if your community or organisation can join the Golden Gurus program.  Applications close 30th July, 2010