Growing up stronger, brighter girls

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www.firstnationstelegraph.com

Growing up stronger, brighter girls by Zoe Knox 22 November 2015

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n Sunday November 29, eight Girls from Oz (g-oz) participants from Halls Creek will join with ten g-oz participants from Carnarvon in two performances with 600 members of the Australian Girls Choir at the Perth Concert Hall. Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, g-oz patron, is travelling from Brisbane to join the g-oz girls on this special occasion. Girls from Oz has been providing life enhancing educational opportunities for, mostly Indigenous, girls in Halls Creek since 2010 and in Carnarvon since 2013. Over 200 girls have been involved in the program which has attracted the support of philanthropic funding bodies including LotteryWest, and yet g-oz has struggled to obtain government support for this effective engagement program. g-oz is one of a number of programs designed to improve West Australian girls’ engagement with schools in order to improve the likelihood that they will pursue further study and employment. While boys’ engagement programs receive substantial state and federal funding, there is a staggering lack of support for the girls. The 18 g-oz girls will land in Perth on Tuesday November 24 and will join with 24 senior members of the Australian Girls Choir from

At Admiralty House in Sydney, the Governor-General welcomed Halls Creek participants of the ‘Girls from Oz’ program as houseguests in 2013. Image: gg.gov.au

Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney for a week of touring and performing. Highlights include: • Performance for the WA Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AO and guests at Government House • Public performance at Central Park • Two concerts at the Perth Concert Hall Ms Bryce has long been a supporter of g-oz and travelled to Halls Creek in year one of the program to meet with the participants and encourage them to think big when it comes to their future. She also hosted some Halls Creek girls in a ‘sleepover’ at

Admiralty House in Sydney in 2011 and 2013 when she was GovernorGeneral of Australia. With role modelling and mentoring as important aspects of the g-oz program, this week-long adventure promises to broaden the horizons of these young women. A window of opportunity to meet and interview the girls and Ms Bryce exists on Sunday November 29, 5pm at Perth Concert Hall. There will be other opportunities and you can contact Nicole Muir on 0410 573 651 or at nmuir@ aspagroup.com.au to arrange a time. Please see attached document for more information about Girls from Oz.

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