Current Activity
Talkin It Up - A Mental Health Wellbeing Forum for Youth
The Talkin It Up Forum was a great success and was a collaboration with the Rotary Clubs of Monbulk and Belgrave. To find out more CLICK HERE.
The Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA)
This is a wonderful international Rotary youth program.
Senior high school students develop an awareness of the United Nations and the countries they will represent at a simulated UN Assembly.
The event provides an excellent forum for students from years 10, 11 or 12 to develop and practice their public speaking skills whilst debating on topical world issues. They also learn about the workings of the United Nations.
This year MUNA was staged at Lyndale High School on Saturday 17 August and 28 teams were involved. Ken, Lyn and I attended and we all were very impressed with the event especially the standard of the debating.
The students were randomly allocated their country prior to the event and researched their country’s position on various topics. The students gain valuable research, debating, and negotiating skills, as well as building connections with other students from other schools.
Our club sponsored Lizzy and Bethanny from Our Lady of Sion College, Box Hill. Their allotted country was Indonesia and considering Lizzie and Bethanny had a much shorter time to prepare, both girls made a terrific contribution to the Assembly.
This year the following four resolutions debated at MUNA related to humanitarian, environmental, economic, and geopolitical issues.
● The situation in the South China Sea
● Strengthening the role of the UN in the promotion of democratisation and enhancing periodic and
genuine elections.
● Preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment
● State of global food security
It was emphasised that students were to show respect to fellow delegates and observe the ‘Spirit of MUNA’ ie act with dignity, decorum, and within the UN protocols.
Every student received a certificate to acknowledge their participation in MUNA. There were also 7 monetary prizes awarded including best delegation (also received a perpetual shield), best country dress and the DG’s award.
An Opportunity of a Lifetime
Learning to crew an 1828 tall ship like the Enterprize is no small task. Yet a professional sailing crew together with sponsorship from Rotary Clubs enable groups of young people to push their limits and experience what they are capable of.
This is the first year that Emerald Rotary has had the opportunity to sponsor a young person who has been selected to experience the pride of accepting responsibility which leads to leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, and many other skills that will benefit them for years to come.
The 27-metre topsail schooner Enterprize is a replica of the tall ship that brought the first European settlers from Tasmania to found the city of Melbourne in 1835. The original schooner was eventually wrecked on a bar off the Richmond River in Northern N.S.W with the loss of two lives.
The successful Emerald applicant, Myra Incoll boarded Enterprize at Melbourne Dock 8.00am Saturday 6th April and spent 4 days and nights doing 3-hour watches literally learning to sail and navigate Enterprize with 11 other young people under the experienced guidance of a professional crew.
Each participant has a mentor in support of their adventure, in Emerald Rotary’s case a club member and past commodore with years of experience at sea was available for this assignment, Roy Bowyer.
Roy and members of the club joined Myra on Saturday as they set sail.
Image: Past President Marcus Adams, President Sangeeta Bajaj, Mentor Roy Bowyer and Past President Shalini Penny in Port Melbourne on Saturday.
Highlights 2023-2024
Chair: PP PHF Marcus Adams
Team: Toni-Anne Griffin, Kerith Cummins, PP PHF Gloria Hargreaves, PP PHF Catherine Elfick and upon becoming a member Amber Willems
It is important to recognise that the area of Youth had been incredibly well-coordinated and enhanced during the past four years under the governance and inspiration of the previous chairperson, Tina McInerney. With that background and having been actively involved in a number of the youth projects as our Club’s president during the previous year, it was with great excitement to be taking on this role, especially with a fantastic committee.
Our Youth budget was $12,000 and by the end of this year our Club’s youth projects will have come close to that sum. I have not mentioned the Debutante Ball below as there will be a separate report, however the committee led by Lyn Beckwith should be proud of what they do in both the experience given to the mainly Year 11 students, but also the fundraising achieved for our Club - much of which I suggest is proportionate with the money our Club is then in a position to spend on youth projects.
So, what has Youth achieved this year?
- Throughout, Breakfast Club has continued at the Emerald Secondary College with a number of our members attending the 8am. gathering of students for a hot chocolate, toast and/or chat in a warm and safe environment.
- In July, the Emerald Secondary College Kitchen Garden was formally opened and well attended by ESC staff and students, representatives of the Cardinia Foundation and Mens Shed, Lyn Beckwith, Sangeeta Bajaj and me. A great success that will be well enjoyed for years to come.
- In October, Gloria and her team ran another exceptional Primary School Speech Contest held at Emerald Primary School with the governance of our Toastmaster friends.Lorna Shaw was again an outstanding judge!
- In October, Catherine and Sangeeta gave certificates and lapel badges for the St. Margarets/Berwick Grammar School’s Interact Club students.
- In November, our Club added a third prize as part of our sponsorship of 3 prizes at the Emerald Arts Society for the junior art awards.
- In November, Sangeeta and I attended the Emerald Secondary College Valedictory to present Citizenship watches to Year 12 students Harry Closter and Caiti Ellis.
- In November, our Club was contacted by Principal Scott Burton from the Selby Primary School to assist with the coordination of the removal and relocation of their playground through Rotary Overseas Relocated Playgrounds (RORP), with several of our members attending Kilsyth at different times to assist in packing playgrounds into containers that were going overseas.Our Club contributed $1,000 to the cost. We appear to have created a great relationship with the RORP Chairperson, Bob Allardice.
- In December, I attended the Emerald, Macclesfield and Cockatoo Primary Schools and Sangeeta attended the Gembrook Primary School to present the Citizenship vouchers.
- In December, our Club presented for the first time a $200 music voucher at Emerald Secondary College’s Presentation Night.
- In January, our Club for the second time sponsored the the Emerald Secondary College Year 12 cohort at their City Experience Camp by paying for the workshop with Success Integrated (a motivational workshop on study skills and habits).
- In March, we started taking steps towards developing an EarlyAct Club at the Emerald Primary School, and on May 3 it was formally launched with 23 students at a school assembly with several Rotarians attending.Kerith Cummins and Paula Jones are now fully-fledged in coordinating the program, alongside Principal Emma Clark, Grade 6 teacher Ben Kolb and Hollie Boniface.This project could well have lasting positive consequences for our community at large and our Club as a whole as it gets rolling.
- In April, our Club sent year 10 student Myra Incoll from Emerald Secondary College to sail on the tall ship the Enterprize for the Rotary Youth Sailing Challenge from 6 to 9 April under the great mentorship of Roy Bowyer.It was fantastic saying bon voyage to Myra with her father and brother, Sangeeta, Shalini Penny and Roy!
- In April, the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) Program at the Emerald Secondary College was a great success with 94 students participating. Thanks to Vicki Van Den Bergen, Gloria, Shalini and Lyn for attending.
- In June, Andrew McAllister, Ian Ash, Amber, Tina and I have commenced mentoring five of the Year 12 leaders of the Emerald Secondary College, and I anticipate this mentor program will be continued into the future.
- We have assembled a team of Year 10s from Emerald Secondary College to participate in MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly) later this year (August), with Indonesia being their nominated country and hopefully we will hear about their experiences later in the year.
- We are also sponsoring David Clowes from Emerald to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) in June this year, and we will hear from David about his experiences in due course.
Going Forward
At the time of writing this report, the following are in the pipeline:
- Our Club through the boldness of Gloria, and with Hita Mistry, Kristine Ash, Ian Wakefield and me from our Club, Lisa Palmer, mental health therapist and Rotarians John Coleman from Monbulk and Wayne McKenzie from Belgrave, have been working towards holding a Mental Health Forum for adolescents called Talkin’ It Up, A Mental Wellbeing Forum for Youth at St. Marks on 25 July.
- Our Club through the leadership of Gloria is again making plans for the Primary School Speech Contest to be held on 29 October 2024.
- Our Club has committed to sponsoring a primary school student from Ramingining in East Arnhem Land of the Northern Territory later this year for $1,500 in partnership with Cockatoo Primary School, which is very exciting.
- Additionally, our Club has offered to provide Emerald Secondary College:
- $1,000 for the purchase of musical instruments and
- $600 ($300 each) for music scholarships to Emerald Secondary College students.
- Further, with Emerald Secondary College we:
- Have opened discussions to hopefully establish an Interact Club at Emerald Secondary College;
- Are investigating whether our Club should send a student to the National Youth Science Forum in January 2025.
As you will have read, Youth is a busy and fulfilling portfolio of our Club, and I am very proud of the work of the committee this year, and the wonderful support from President Sangeeta – congratulations on your outstanding year - and the Board. It is not forgotten that much of what our Club achieves in Youth is due to the hardworking fundraising that our Club members do tirelessly throughout each and every year – thank you to everyone. Finally, I am very honored to be going around again supporting youth as Chair for the next Rotary year.
