10 minute read
History Made With All Women Team To Lead Australia India Business Council Ltd
The country’s leading Australia India business chamber will be led by former NSW Leader of the Opposition, Jodi McKay and Ravneet Pawha, Vice President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin University.
Ms McKay and Ms Pawha’s election as National Chair and National Vice Chair of the Australia India Business Council Ltd (AIBC) comes at a momentous time in the history of Australia-India relations, with the two countries agreeing on an interim free trade agreement and negotiations underway for an Australia India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
“India is the fastest growing major economy in the world, and Australia has been positioning itself to realise the mutual benefits of growing trade ties,” Ms McKay said.
“However, the relationship between Australia and India is not solely a government responsibility - business must be prepared to step up and it is AIBC’s role to support and facilitate opportunities.”
“Ravneet and I lead the AIBC at a crucial time in the bilateral relationship. We are excited about the opportunities for Australia and the role of AIBC as the voice for business and an advocate for strengthening economic, social and cultural ties.”
The AIBC was established in 1986 by the respective Prime Ministers of both countries of the time - Bob Hawke and Rajiv Gandhi.
“The history of AIBC and the India Australia story are underpinned by business to business and people to people links. AIBC must be the voice for business and trade, while harnessing the tremendous potential of the diaspora in this critical relationship.”
Ravneet Pawha said, “I’ve had the opportunity of being a voice in building robust government-to-government, business-to-business and people-to-people linkages between India and Australia for almost three decades in various roles including as the President of the AIBC Victoria chapter for the past two years,”
Jodi McKay
“India is Australia’s seventh-largest trading partner and fifth-largest export market, and the signing of the historic India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has given significant momentum to the deepening of the bilateral relationship,”
“Both governments recognise there is significant potential in cooperation in areas of trade and business, AIBC is well-positioned to advance this engagement by facilitating, nurturing, and promoting industry, business, start-ups ecosystem through commercial and economic development between India and Australia.”
“I look forward to working with Jodi in strengthening AIBC’s role as a platform for leaders of businesses in both countries to transform and influence decisions that promote mutual awareness and understanding that makes it easier for Australian businesses to operate in India and vice versa,” Ms Pawha added. Ms McKay and Ms Pahwa thanked the outgoing leadership team of Jim Varghese and Sanushka Seomangal.
“Jim and Sanushka have placed AIBC in a strong position to champion the India Australia trade cause. “Ravneet and I hope to build on that work for the mutual benefit of our two great nations, said Ms McKay.
Jodi and Ravneet will be supported in the AIBC national leadership team by Irfan Malik, CEO and Managing Director inQ Innovation Global and Ashok Mysore, Vice President Delivery and Operation at Infosys.
Ravneet Pahwa
It’s that time of year again when parents and students anxiously await their NAPLAN results.
NAPLAN is a nationwide test of literacy and numeracy that all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to take. It doesn’t impact entrance to high school or university, but is a measure of how a child is performing at school.
Just like every year, some students will bring home results that are lower than what they hoped for. If this happens to your child, you can play an important role in helping them overcome some of the disappointment and limit any impact on their wellbeing.
What should you say – and what shouldn’t you say – when discussing NAPLAN results with your child?
Do talk about the context
One thing parents can do for their stu-
dent is help them understand the broader context of NAPLAN.
For one thing, the purpose of NAPLAN is for the government and public to get a broad understanding of how schools are performing.
This provides important information about where to allocate more resources to support schools in need. While individual families also receive information about how their student performed, this was not the original purpose of the test.
Another key aspect is the impact of COVID cannot be overstated when it comes to interpreting this year’s NAPLAN results. Countries around the world are reporting that annual test scores are significantly down this year, and it shouldn’t be a surprise.
School disruptions might explain some of these drops, but we can’t forget the levels of fear, loss and trauma that many families have experienced due to the pandemic and floods. NAPLAN participation rates were historically low this year, which says a lot about the challenging circumstances students have faced.
Do talk about life beyond NAPLAN
Without fail, NAPLAN attracts national attention every year. To a student, it is hard to believe that NAPLAN could be anything but a very big deal.
Unfortunately, research has shown students’ self esteem can be negatively impacted by lower-than-expected test results.
Parents can help students understand NAPLAN is only one indication of their learning progress. They can encourage their child to focus on their strengths and other indicators of achievement. These may be achievements in subjects not tested by NAPLAN, or involvement in extra curricular activities.
Parents may also like to note that some experts say the test should be abandoned or changed, arguing it it is too narrowly focused and hampers creativity.
Do talk to your child’s teacher
Most importantly, if you have any questions about your student’s NAPLAN results, discuss these questions with your child’s teacher.
Teachers have the most valuable information about how your student is progressing through school.
Regardless of what NAPLAN results say, teachers are the ones who spend every day watching your student grow. They are constantly assessing learning, and they will be able to explain how your student is doing and how to interpret NAPLAN scores more holistically.
Don’t compare your child’s results
Please resist the urge to compare your student’s NAPLAN results to their peers’ or even their own previous scores. more important now. The last few years have been extremely disruptive, and families have been impacted in very different ways.
It is impossible to know exactly how the effects of the pandemic influenced each student’s NAPLAN performance. Because of this, comparisons across students, classrooms or years can be misleading.
Don’t focus on what NAPLAN ‘means’ for the future
It is critical that students and parents understand that NAPLAN is only one narrow measure of learning.
NAPLAN only provides a small snapshot of how they performed on one day. NAPLAN will never be able to capture everything a student has learned or the progress they have made.
It is also true that NAPLAN doesn’t tell us much about what a student might do in the future. Most importantly, students should be reminded that NAPLAN does not define who they are, or what they are capable of achieving.
And don’t panic!
Regardless of how your student performs on NAPLAN this year, do not panic or get overly excited.
Remaining calm and encouraging your student to see NAPLAN as but one measure of achievement is crucial for supporting students’ wellbeing and future prospects.
Overreactions can have multiple consequences. They can lead to unnecessary pressure to perform better next time, which will likely have the opposite effect.
They can also lead to the incorrect belief that NAPLAN scores are true predictors of what students will be capable of doing in the future. It is not worth jeopardising a student’s sense of worth simply because of one test score.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Author: Jessica Holloway
Senior Research DECRA Fellow, Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University.
By Poornima Vamsi
You heard me right; on the occasion of ‘R U OK’ day, I quickly wanted to check in with family and friends if they are doing ok or if there is something that I could help with and then realized that with all the recent happenings, I am dealing with a lot of emotions, and I will admit that I am not ok.
While we might feel really uncomfortable in admitting this dear, as we are taught to feel and say we are ok, even if we aren’t, I want you to understand that it is very important to acknowledge and honour how you feel rather than being blatant about it.
As for me, I am working with myself through the tools, techniques and methodologies I learnt on how to deal with my inner-child and the emotions arising out of it. Until I had the knowledge that we should actually not supress our emotions, there were many instances in life where I forcibly told myself that I was fine, even if I wasn’t. When I look back now, I see that one such incident is actually the root cause for me being diagnosed with Thyroid, higher TSH levels and it clearly speaks for how STRESS actually contributes to your physical sickness apart from the mental/emotional turmoil. And on this occasion, I want to share with you the process I am using to release my emotions and urge you do so if you are going through any vulnerability in life –
1.Recognise: It is extremely important to recognise what is actually bothering you from inside. For me, when I sat through and thought, I did not get my answers. However, when I started to journal my thoughts on ‘Why am I feeling low’, I was given couple of reasons on which I further journaled to get to the root of the issue. Some questions that will help you identify your state of being –
Why am I feeling low?
What is presently running as my thought and is it associated with my current state of being?
Has there been any recent incident/s that has triggered my mood?
R U OK ?
2.Acknowledge: As you get to recognise your ‘state of being’ , acknowledge that it is how you are feeling and appreciate for the place you are in. While it might sound unusual to appreciate, are you not glad that you were able to identify the reason for you feeling low rather than just wandering?
3.Reframe: This is ‘THE DIFFICULT’ step for most of us to do. As we recognise and acknowledge, it is now important for us to keep that particular instance/situation as stand-alone rather than believing that is who you are! Most of the times, a particular instance or situation might make us feel worthless and we impose it on ourselves unknowingly. This is not true! It is the instance that makes you feel vulnerable and does not have anything to do with WHO YOU ARE! So, reframe your thoughts about who you are, and this is again best done by journaling.
4.Embody: By now, if you were someone like me, you should start to feel a lot better because you have disassociated yourself from the moment/instance/ situation that made you feel not so good. Again, journal on how you are presently feeling after reframing and embody the new YOU.
And always remember, it is actually ok to say that ‘I AM NOT OK’
Note : As a woman, it is important that we feel ok to be able to support our family and loved ones; give yourself an opportunity to feel ok!
