Keynote Speaker Tania Major (centre), with Associate Professor Nereda White (second from left) with students from Stuartholme College.

Young Australians inspired to make a difference

High school students gathered at Brisbane and Sydney campuses recently to discuss social responsibility and the moral and ethical dimensions of life.

The 2009 Social Justice Youth Forum keynote speaker was 2007 Young Australian of the Year, Tania Major, who challenged students to make a difference in their local communities.

The Indigenous youth advocate was the youngest person elected to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and has used her profile to draw attention to domestic violence in the Aboriginal community.

In its fifth year, more than 250 students attended the forum at the Brisbane Campus this year.  The forum was held at the North Sydney Campus for the first time this year with more than 150 students attending.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Gabrielle McMullen, said the forum provided students with a chance to actively participate in a range of lectures and workshops conducted by ACU staff and students with various social justice concern groups, such as Caritas.

“We hope that by holding a social justice forum these young students have been inspired with a sense of social responsibility and concern for the dignity of all human beings,” Professor McMullen said.