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Column: GPP - Australia

Director of GPP named Australian of the Year 2011
 
Simon McKeon, Director of the Global Poverty Project, Australia, was today named the 2011 Australian of the Year.

Simon receives this prestigious award in recognition of his efforts supporting multiple Australian and international non-profit organisations. He sits on Global Poverty Project’s Board in Australia as a non-executive director, and has worked with the team from its inception to develop a community education and engagement program that catalyses the movement to end extreme poverty. 

Simon is also the Chairman of Business for Millennium Development, a group that exists to reduce poverty by partnering Australian businesses with developing countries in the Asia Pacific Region.

Simon is a well-known philanthropist, businessman and avid sportsman. Despite being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis ten years ago, he has not slowed his corporate life or his tireless community work.

He currently works as the Executive Chairman of the Macquarie Group’s Melbourne office, is Chair of the CSIRO, and is involved with Red Dust Role Models, a group that works with remote Indigenous communities.

The Australia Day Council said, “His lifelong efforts to support Australian and international charities have earned him great admiration and respect in the community.”

We congratulate Simon on this momentous occasion and thank him for his ongoing contributions to the Global Poverty Project’s work in Australia. 
Posted by Renee Carr - GPP Australia Marketing & Communications Manager in for column GPP - Australia on Jan 26th 2010, 00:08
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Youth & Schools Activation - Pilot Program
 

It is with great excitement that GPP Australia welcomes back d'Arcy Lunn.

d'Arcy (and his bicycle) first joined the project on the launch tour (see his video diary). After heading into central Australia to teach for a term in Indigenous communities, d'Arcy has rejoined the GPP and is piloting the presentations in schools. He has now presented to 15 schools reaching over 1200 students, many of whom are undertaking the next step of the pilot program to become advocates in the fight to end extreme poverty.

 

The structure that has been undertaken for the pilot program for schools goes like this...

 

1. Host the GPP 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation, specially adapted with an interactive quiz and school segments!

2. Have students choose a part of the presentation that inspires them or they feel passionate about.

3. Encourage students to research their topic and learn more about it, with support from GPP to link them to resources and organisations.

4. Armed with their new understanding, ask students to create an innovative way presenting the new knowledge they have learned.

5. Have students identify an audience to present to - peer class, parents, anyone!

6. Provide students with the opportunity to deliver their own presentation and inspire others so the GPP ripples out and beyond!

 

 

Since October d'Arcy has rolled out this pilot through schools in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. From 180 energetic Year 9 boys for 1½ hours, to an intimate social justice club of Year 11's the presentation and its content has been well tested and continually adapted! The testimonials and feedback have been fantastic and we are ready to take the next step.

 

 

On top of all of this, we at the Project are trying to find funding for the program for next year. If you know of grants, organisations, etc that would love to see GPP in schools across Australia next year please get in touch!

 

 

Very soon we will have documents will be available to map our strategy for the Global Poverty Project for youth and schools for next year and beyond... watch this space and get in touch if you want to know more…to learn more about education and extreme poverty, you can click here.

 
Posted by Rich Fleming in Education for column GPP - Australia on Nov 10th 2009, 07:37
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Goings on in Melbourne... GPP HQ
 

 How time flies...

It felt like it was yesterday when we launched the presentation on a crazy eight week tour of Australia and New Zealand; however that was back in July/August.

The project has had a great impact in Australia and New Zealand since launching. The presentation has been delivered over 100 times to over 16,000 people. We have even reached 15M+ through our media presence.

However there is no resting on our laurels, the Australian and New Zealand teams are planning the rollout of the presentation throughout grassroots communities and networks in 2010.

The grassroots campaign will not only see us train 100 presenters across the countries to present into their communities.  It will see us working with key partners to modify the presentation so that it resonates better with their audience, in a similar fashion to the Church Presentation that was developed with Compassion Australia and other partners.

We will be working on creating a deeper engagement with our community and supporters – providing real and tangible actions for people to take. Watch this space – it is going to be extremely exciting.

And please keep up to date with all GPP happenings here at our Blog or our Facebook site.

Thanks,

Rich Fleming
Posted by Rich Fleming (Australian General Manager) in for column GPP - Australia on Nov 6th 2009, 06:48
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The Global Poverty Project Tour - The Inside Story
 

Hi everyone and welcome to this blog which will follow the Global Poverty Project tour around Australia. We are five students from the University of Cambridge in the UK interning with the Global Poverty Project. We will be keeping you up to date with the latest news about the GPP and its day to day progress.

The tour began with its International Launch on July 4 at the University of Melbourne. It was exciting to meet people who have supported the project from the start, including representatives from GPP's sponsors. We had a lot of positive feedback when speaking to people after the presentation and many of them were willing to make video commitments to take specific action to help end extreme poverty. Everyone was on a high from all the excitement surrounding the launch of the GPP presentation. So much so that the after-party carried on until 6am!

As the launch was booked out at an early stage, an additional presentation was held at the University of Melbourne a few days later on the eve of the G8 summit. Many were keen to record a video message to encourage Kevin Rudd to put pressure on the G8 leaders to keep the commitments made in 2005 regarding aid to developing countries. The next morning, we were amazed to see Hugh's video message on the front page of Youtube Australia!

The GPP team has now moved to Sydney and we are currently at the Google headquarters preparing for a presentation for Google staff. The Google offices are amazing. We are all very impressed by the design of the building and the excellent working atmosphere. The Sydney launch of the Global Poverty Project was on July 10th at Sydney Customs House. The venue was perfect and Hugh's delivery of the presentation was the best yet. Representatives from partner organisations such as 'Make Poverty History' and 'Fair Trade' were there to show audience members how to get involved in the fight against extreme poverty by buying fair trade products, learning about volunteer placements, and signing petitions.

To find out how you can get involved to make a difference, click here.

Yesterday Hugh held a question and answer session at the Powershift climate change conference at University of Technology Sydney. The room was packed with high school and university students, all eager to hear about the Global Poverty Project. After the talk, we headed to Circular Quay to see hundreds of young people dancing on the steps of the Opera House for the "Powershift Flash Mob". It was inspiring to experience such a powerful and entertaining example of young people taking action to push for political change. We are hoping to see quite a few of them at the full GPP presentation held at Google tonight. It is all very exciting and we feel really lucky to be interning at such a critical starting stage of the Global Poverty Project.
Posted by The GPP Intern Team in What Can I Do? for column GPP - Australia on Jul 14th 2009, 07:15
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