National Student Leadership Forum » More from our speakers

Where True Power Lies

Admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:27:43 +0000

Jon Owen has spoken at the Forum several times and is actively engaged with his wife Lisa and family with Urban Neighbours of Hope. We are grateful to be able to share some of his thoughts as he lives and works with friends in his local community at Bidwell in Western Sydney.

I witnessed a big waste of money the other day and I approved. A friend, who budgets and works like nothing else to make ends meet for her family went out on her payday and bought her little brother a brand new pair of pretty flash shoes. Her gift cost her all of her spare money that week, so there would be no outings or trips out for a meal as a result. Generosity that flows from scarcity shines far brighter than it does from abundance.

“Dad are we being forced to lie?” A cold shiver ran down my spine as I thought “What have I been caught out for this time? I thought we settled Santa and the Tooth fairy ages ago”

This unsolicited question came from my 11 year old as she prepared for a speech at School entitled “For Those Who’ve Come Across The Seas We’ve Boundless Plains To Share”. We try not to talk politics at home (too much) but they pick up a lot more than we like to admit. I can’t say I was relieved to be off the hook. In fact, I want to be on the hook for this one like so many of you in the Huddle already are.

What is powerful about my daughter’s opinions is that they are connected to her relationships. So when she talks about “Indigenous Issues” she talks about friends. When she talks about “Asylum Seekers” she relates it to people who have been guests in our home.

Put simply, we don’t have an issue with resources in this country. We have an issue with distribution.

The same applies for love doesn’t it? We generally decide in advance who gets it and who doesn’t, but isn’t love a non-exhaustible resource? When I asked my friend why she spent all her discretionary budget on a pair of shoes she told me “No one cares about my little brother, and he never gets anything new, so me and my partner decided to surprise him”. It worked. The look on his face was out of this world. It may have cost them everything for the week but it bought a little more love into his heart.

For many identity is developed around accumulation and not distribution and we easily mistake this for power. True power accumulates from what one shares not what one has.

I love this place, again I walked away confused about who is rich and who is poor in this world.

So I’d like to say a big thank you to all of you in the huddle who know where true power lies and is working to make our nation the place it is today – which is great…with room for improvement.
Till we gather again,

Jon Owen Minister-At-Large

Title: Where True Power Lies
Author: Jon Owen
Format: Article/online blog post
Year Published: 2016
Access: Online via the Huddle Newsletter

The post Where True Power Lies appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

The Only Gift That Counts- Jon Owen

Admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 01:43:29 +0000

The following thought is from Jon Owen of Urban Neighbours of Hope. Jon has been a regular speaker at the Forum, and lives and works in the community in Mt. Druitt in Sydney’s Western suburbs. He and his family live out the idea of servant leadership in a very tangible and humble way amongst their neighbours and friends and are wonderful examples of what it means to love others in our world today.

Lisa and I just shared a laugh as one of our kids ran inside the house and declared “she has to come and live here, her mum is going to kill her!” One of their friends had just been busted smoking a cigarette and had done a runner. We love our girls instinct to offer sanctuary, but there is some pain that shouldn’t be avoided.

We have made so many mistakes over the years that being conned and still remaining open should be elevated to the status of a Spiritual Discipline. Some people are so broken they believe that the only thing that will fix their aching hearts is stuff, yet no amount of stuff can ever fill a gap that big. Only love can do that. Still when people are broken they accumulate as much of it as they can find. Christmas sadly feeds this kind of pain.

No one could be as happy and well organised as all the people on the Christmas commercials can they? I bet they don’t have kids who want what every kid wants but live in a family where there isn’t even enough money to pay the bills, no matter how hard they work.

The stress and strain takes it’s toll.

I just bumped into my good mate Jimmy at the local, he feels it bitterly in his guts every year. His family use Christmas as a gathering point to remember their recently deceased parents. This breaks him up inside because he holds a lonely secret from them about his dad, one that he will never tell them either. He unloads on me and knows that no amount of stuff will help his hurt, so instead we share a laugh, a game of pool and make plans for the weekend. He is a mate and hero.

We never try and fix people. All we ever try and do is meet them where they are and offer them all we really have to give, which is the gift of a relationship. A relationship that time and time again we have seen can change everything.

All we do is extend our hands, the rest is up to them. Till we gather again please fill your hearts and not your stockings.

Much love and thanks,

Jon Owen

Minister-At-Large

Title: The Only Gift that Counts
Author: Jon Owen
Format: Blog Post
Published: 2015
Publisher: Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH)
Aceess: NSLF Online Library and http://unoh.org/

The post The Only Gift That Counts- Jon Owen appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

Who will Rest and who shall wander? Rosh Hashanah by Rabbi Zalman Kastel

Admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 06:24:00 +0000

At a time that terrible suffering afflicts millions in the Middle East and continues to traumatize those who have escaped, Jews prepare for our New Year and day of judgement: Rosh Hashanah. In the synagogue the solemn words will ring out: “Who will live and who will die? Who will die in their time and who before their time? Who by fire? Who by the sword? Who by hunger? Who by thirst? Who will find rest and who shall wander? Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued? …who shall be tormented?” This prayer talks about these decisions as being made by God alone. Yet, you and I are also making choices as citizens that might have some influence on these terrible questions.

This week’s decision by the Australian Government to resettle 12,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria and Iraq, with a focus “on those most in need – the women, children and families of persecuted minorities”, ¹ followed pleas by citizens as well as politicians. Last year I heard a representative of the Assyrian community describe the killing and devastation inflicted on his community by Daesh/IS. I connected with their pain and deeply wished this evil would stop! Now, thankfully, at least Assyrians will likely get some relief and be shown some compassion.

On the other hand, one Australian Muslim who I respect and trust had a different perspective on the government’s announcement. “Muslims will forever remember a time that Australia turned its back on them, or planned too, when they are at their most vulnerable. This is what radicalises people. Do you see why I say that this government doesn’t really care about true de-radicalisation? This is the beginning of the end. Remember this moment! It’s when we sacrificed our security, humanity and self-worth for political manoeuvring”. This perspective must be taken into account.

The decisions about who should be resettled and who will continue to suffer and “find nowhere to rest their feet” should be, and should be seen to be, based on need rather than ethnicity or religion. The right to save this one and leave another to suffer could only be claimed by God. Human justice must be procedural and impartial. The NSW Jewish community 2013 policy statement asserts that government should “not adopt any policy that arbitrarily limits or excludes from refugee protection any category of people with a genuine and well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland”. ²

The argument that a non-sectarian policy is necessary for social cohesion is consistent with an article written this week by former UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. It should be noted that Sacks is not on some kind of left-wing politically correct bandwagon. In fact in 2007, he wrote that “Multiculturalism has led not to integration but to segregation…societies more abrasive, fractured and intolerant…”. ³ This week he wrote that it “is hard is to love the stranger, one whose colour, culture or creed is different from yours. That is why the command, “Love the stranger because you were once strangers”, resonates so often throughout the Bible. It is summoning us now. A bold act of collective generosity will show that the world, particularly Europe, (or the west) has learned the lesson of its own dark past and is willing to take a global lead in building a more hopeful future. Wars that cannot be won by weapons can sometimes be won by the sheer power of acts of humanitarian generosity to inspire the young to choose the way of peace instead of holy war”. ⁴ As my respected Muslim correspondent quoted above points out, the opposite is also true.

We must be hard on the problems and refuse to accept the avoidable suffering of our fellow humans, regardless of ethnicity or religion. On Rosh Hashanah, I will pray that ‘God reign over the world in a way that will be known to all’. To me, this means that principles of justice and mercy prevail rather than the interests of the rich and powerful or the short term political interests of politicians. At the same time, let us treat each other with understanding and grace. A beautiful Rosh Hashanah prayer asserts that humans are “like a fading flower, like a broken shard of earthenware, and a dream that flies away”. This is a challenging time for those who are suffering and for the preservation of the fragile fabric of our still largely cohesive society. I pray for wise, responsible and compassionate choices by all concerned.

This article was originally published in the Torah for Socially Aware on September 11, 2015 http://torahforsociallyawarehasid.blogspot.com.au/. Rabbi Zalman Kastel was raised in the “ultra orthodox” Chasidic Jewish tradition yet reports being transformed by encounters with Christians and Muslims. Zalman is the National Director of the not-for-profit, multifaith-based Together for Humanity Foundation – fostering interfaith cooperation and bringing positive experiences of diversity to thousands of young Australians. Notes:
1. https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-09-09/syrian-and-iraqi-humanitarian-crisis
2. http://www.nswjbd.org/Our-Policies-/default.aspx, policy last updated (according to the website at 11 am on 10.09.2015) on 17.9.2013
3. Sacks, J, (2007), the Home We Build Together, p.3, Continuum, London.
4. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/06/refugee-crisis-jonathan-sacks-humanitarian-generosity accessed 10.09.15
Feature image originally posted to Flickr by James_Gordon_losangeles at http://flickr.com/photos/79139277@N08/7435923074 Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

Title: Who will rest and who shall wonder?
Author: Rabbi Zalman Kastel
Format: Blog Post
Published: September, 2015
Publisher: Torah for Socially Aware
Access: NSLF Online Library and http://torahforsociallyawarehasid.blogspot.com.au/

The post Who will Rest and who shall wander? Rosh Hashanah by Rabbi Zalman Kastel appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

Te Whiti: The Forgotten Forerunner of Non-violent Resistance by Dave Andrews

Admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 06:17:23 +0000

The following is a chapter from the book “People of Compassion” written by Dave Andrews, a speaker at the 2009 Nationals Student Leadership Forum. The book is a wonderful compilation of the life stories of real people, gathered from across the ages and continents, who have embodied compassion and whose faith inspired them to use their particular gifts and energies to serve the world. The book can be borrowed from the NSLF library or to order the entire book yourself, contact TEAR Australia.

Te Whiti was born in Parihaka, Aotearoa (New Zealand) about 1815. His Maori parents, Hone Kakahi and Raumahora, made sure Te Whiti was brought up well-schooled in the values of traditional Maori culture. A Maori preacher, Minarapa Te Rangihatuake, taught the young Te Whiti to read and write and study the scriptures, and a Lutheran missionary, Johannes Riemenschneider, baptised him. Throughout his life, Te Whiti constantly struggled to relate a personal Christian faith to traditional Maori culture.

On 30 April 1864, many Maori warriors died in the Battle of Sentry Hill, trying to defend their land from further European incursions. Te Whiti didn’t take up arms, but supported his people’s defence of their land. The New Zealand Settlements Act authorised the confiscation of any land where the government deemed the natives to be in rebellion. Although the judiciary warned that confiscation was illegal, the government systematically took over 4 million hectares of land. Much of that was in Taranaki.

In the 1870s, more immigrants arrived from Europe. The government was pressured to provide more land for the Pakeha (white people). As a result, surveyors began slicing up the Waimate Plains. To start with, Te Whiti and his people allowed this to happen, but in the late 1870s, when the settlers began to move in, the people of Parihaka chose to act. Te Whiti said: ‘My name is taken from the hill Puke Te Whiti (which stands as a sentinel guarding the past, the present and the future). Like Puke Te Whiti, I stand as a sentinel – not one bit of land will be given over to strangers with my consent.’

Te Whiti chose to fight, but unlike his forbears, he chose to fight the invasion non-violently. Publicly, he declared, ‘Let not the Pakehas think to succeed by reason of their guns…I want not war, but they do. The flashes of their guns have singed our eyelashes, and yet they say they do not want war…Though some, in darkness of heart, seeing their land ravished, might wish to take arms and kill the aggressors, I say it must not be!‘

‘Stout-hearted patience‘ became the spiritual dynamic of Te Whiti’s campaign of non-violent resistance. Te Whiti said to his people: ‘This is my word to you to the tribe…There are two roads, one to life and one to death. God said, in the days of Noah, the earth will be destroyed; build an ark, or all will perish. Noah did as he was commanded and this was an example for us to follow. God said to Lot, depart from the city; leave your houses and goods, for he who turns back shall die, and the city shall be burnt. God said to Moses, do not strive against me, or you will die; by faith only can this tribe be saved. This is an example to us. Our salvation today is stout-heartedness and patience.‘

Having found the dynamic he needed, Te Whiti searched the scriptures for a tactic he could use for his campaign. He came across the verse in Isaiah 2:4 that spoke about ‘beating swords into plough-shares‘. As soon as he read it, Te Whiti knew he had the tactic he needed to devise a strategy of effective resistance. Te Whiti exhorted his warriors to fight against the Europeans who were invading their land without weapons – by simply taking their ploughs and ploughing their own lands – patiently, persistently, and relentlessly ploughing over any and all of the crops that had been planted by the Europeans on the lands they had stolen.

Te Whiti said to his ploughmen: ‘Go, put your hands to the plough. Look not back. If any come with guns and swords, be not afraid. If they smite you, smite not in return. If they rend you, do not be discouraged. Another will take up the good work. If evil thoughts fill the minds of the settlers, and they flee from their farms to the town as in the war of the old, enter not you into their houses, touch not their goods nor their cattle. My eye is over all.‘

During the campaign, hundreds of Te Whiti’s ploughmen were arrested and imprisoned without trial. But still the ploughmen kept on ploughing – demanding the government recognise their ownership of the land.

On 5 November 1881, 1500 volunteers and members of the Armed Constabulary invaded Parihaka. Some 2000 of the people from Parihaka allowed themselves to be arrested by the troops without retaliation. Te Whiti was one of the first to be led away to imprisonment without trial. However, he continued to demand that his people be treated justly, and that the Europeans return their tribal lands to them. After he returned to Taranaki in 1883, Te Whiti continued his campaign of non-violent resistance in one way or another until the day he died in 1907.

Parihaka historian, Te Miringa, claims Te Whiti was the forerunner of the modern movement for nonviolent resistance. He says Mahatma Gandhi learnt about Te Whiti from an Irish delegation that visited Parihaka. The rest is history.

Title: Te Whiti: The Forgotten Forerunner of Non-violent Resistance
Author: Dave Andrews
Format: Extract from Book, Book
Published: 2011
Publisher: Mosaic Press
Access: Extract on NSLF Online Library. Full book available to borrow in hard copy from the NSLF Library. Contact the librarian to arrange collection.

The post Te Whiti: The Forgotten Forerunner of Non-violent Resistance by Dave Andrews appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

How to be the luckiest man on the planet- Jon Owen

Admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:48:03 +0000

Just over a week ago I got to hold her face in my hands, kiss her on the forehead and then place a bracelet on her wrist that Lisa and I had picked out for her. Since she was 12 the handful of dates we have been on are the only times we know that anyone has ever taken her out on a date. As a beautiful young woman she is not short on male attention, but sorely lacks any affection. My heart breaks.

My own daughters are growing up way too fast. My dad jokes are rapidly losing their power, I’m losing influence in their lives. Asking them to pull my finger still elicits a flicker of recognition but misquoting song lyrics draws deep groans where once it drew marvel. It’s hard to escape feeling like a nothingman at home.

So in a desperate effort I took my daughters out for a series of one on one daddy daughter dates, doing whatever they chose to do. For one it smashing a rib platter together, for another it was a night out at the theatre.

On the last date, as I sat there with my highly independent nearly 13 year old falling asleep on my shoulder for the first time in Lord knows how long it struck me:

“Not only am I the luckiest man alive I also hope that I just raised the bar a little” Especially from what they will expect from their future partners in terms of how they should be treated. I also hope that if I continue to be a part of their lives I will eliminate a whole host of prospective partners who treat women as objects because they simply will not get a look in. That’s a better long term plan than buying a shotgun.

It’s never too late to raise the bar for those of us with daughters. We can all be the luckiest men on earth.

I wonder if there would be so desperation in people’s hearts if more dad’s had pushed in when all the signals were telling us to pull away.

So many ways discussed about tackling social issues centre around “it stops with me.” Well dad’s with daughters let’s all tackle this one from the other direction “It starts with me”.

Till we gather again, I’m looking forward to our next date.

Jon Owen

Title: How to be the luckiest man on the planet
Author: Jon Owen
Format:Blog Post
Published: 2015
Year Published: Urban Neighbours of Hope
Access: http://unoh.org/

The post How to be the luckiest man on the planet- Jon Owen appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

A Chance for Some Change… – Jon Owen

Admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 06:59:55 +0000

©Jon Owen at Urban Hope http://unoh.org/urban-hope/

What’s left of value in this world?

“Jonny, got a dollar?” Unfortunately my pockets were empty so I offered him a chat instead.

Thus began a wide ranging discussion with a remarkable kid, who recently sent us all into spin when he inexplicably disappeared for a few weeks. I told him how good it was to see him, how much we all missed him, how worried we all were and the community “search party” we sent out after him. He shrugged, laughed his absence off and moved on.

His keen mind skipped around a variety of topics, using language filled with colour, regularly returning to the baffling phrase“deez nutz” for comfort. I’m getting old.

We soon got to talking about what is of real value in life. “I don’t think anyone actually plans to have kids, they just happen and get in your way” his eyes darted to mine then away, in a look that was somewhere between shame and resignation for a few seconds. Then his mouth was off again until another flash of inspiration, “You’re a God person, did God have parents?…or didn’t they want him either?” his voice tapered off as he herd his own words spill out, releasing it was too late to stuff them back in.

It doesn’t take much to guess at what he yearns for. In that moment our hearts connected. I looked him in the eye and reassured him that its always a pleasure to see him, one that I look forward to. In that moment I made a silent promise to myself to say as much every time I see him.

Nothing I did for the rest of the day came as close in importance to what happened in that moment.

Mother Theresa once shared to an astonished crowd in Australia that “the biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted”. I think we can change the world when we grasp the power of a welcoming presence.

Thank you to all in the Huddle, your generosity enables us together to do somethings of the greatest value imaginable.

Till we gather again,

Jon Owen Minister-At-Large

Title: A Chance for Some Change..

Author: Jon Owen
Format: Blog Post
Published: 27th May 2015
Publisher: Urban Hope
Access: http://unoh.org/urban-hope/

The post A Chance for Some Change… – Jon Owen appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

Being Jewish: Dissent, Self-Criticism and Self-Doubt (Lech Lecha) by Rabbi Zalman Kastel

Admin — Wed, 27 May 2015 06:10:51 +0000

I have been reading the often funny, interesting and nasty observations of Tuvia Tennenbom in his book ‘Catch the Jew’.¹ Central to his story and argument are a few key caricatures. These include the ‘idiotic, fanatical, but sometimes interesting Haredi Jews’, the ‘self-critical, self-doubting, self-hating, incoherent, hypocritical, humourless leftist Jews’, alongside various non-Jewish villains. It got me thinking about the nature of being Jewish and the Jewish attitude to dissent and self-doubt.

Abraham, considered to be the first Jew, discovered God through his own logic and then defiantly destroyed idols to demonstrate their powerlessness, according to oral Jewish tradition² (and also found in Islamic traditions). Abraham then miraculously survived the punishment of being thrown into a fiery furnace.³ This story suggests that part of being Jewish involves questioning established views and tearing down conventionally ‘worshipped but false symbols’. As attractive as the story is, it is not recorded in the text of the Torah, which arguably diminishes its significance somewhat. ⁴ Still, although some Jews in positions of authority might find it convenient to have all dissenters fall into line, the right kind of Chutzpa is clearly an important part of being Jewish.

Being Jewish and a non-conformist ⁵ also sometimes demands sacrifices in terms of relationships. The very first instruction from God to a Jew made him tear himself away from his land, his birthplace and his father’s house. ⁶ ⁷ The dislocation caused by “being removed is considered to be more difficult for people than all (other difficulties)”. ⁸ but Abraham had to abandon friends and family for the sake of his love of God. ⁹ Moving away is also understood in a symbolic and metaphoric sense “as the thinking spirit abandoning material things…in order to occupy oneself with achieving completeness”. ¹⁰ The quest for completeness can also be linked to the ritual of circumcision ¹¹, which at its most basic level is a physical symbol of a close exclusive bond with God, called a covenant.

Someone on a mission for, and in relationship with, God one might be forgiven for exhibiting some hubris. Yet we find the opposite in Abraham, the archetypal Jew. When there is a famine in the land he does not rely on a miracle to save him, instead he travels to Egypt. When God promises Abraham the land of Canaan, he questions God: “With what (personal merit) ¹² will I know that I will (in fact) inherit it?” ¹³ After Abraham had rescued his nephew and his fellow Sodomites in battle, he was afraid in case perhaps just one of the people he had killed in battle may have been righteous. ¹⁴ Abraham’s fear is linked to the proverb “fortunate is the person who is always afraid, but the one who hardens his heart will fall into evil”. ¹⁵ And Abraham himself is criticised by one authority for complicity in his wife Sarah’s mistreatment of his second wife, Hagar, conduct seen as a ‘karmic’ origin of conflict between Jews and Arabs in later times. ¹⁶ Self-criticism and self-doubt are both very Jewish.

So I say to Mr. Tenenbaum and to some who criticise me as a “dissenter”: I make no apologies for thinking deeply about how Jews can do better and how we get it wrong sometimes. This is my obligation as a Jew. If someone doesn’t like Jewish self-doubt or criticism, the Jewish response is to “be bold like a leopard in the face of those who mock him”. ¹⁷

This article was originally published in the Torah for Socially Aware on October 9, 2015 http://torahforsociallyawarehasid.blogspot.com.au/. Rabbi Zalman Kastel was raised in the “ultra orthodox” Chasidic Jewish tradition yet reports being transformed by encounters with Christians and Muslims. Zalman is the National Director of the not-for-profit, multifaith-based Together for Humanity Foundation – fostering interfaith cooperation and bringing positive experiences of diversity to thousands of young Australians. We are grateful that Zalman has been a long term supporter of and speaker at the National Student Leadership Forum in Canberra.

1. Tenenbom, T (2015), Catch the Jew, Gefen Publishing
2. Bereshit Rabba 38
3. Bereshit Rabba 38. Whether Abraham miraculously survived being inside the fire or a miracle happened to change the Kings mind and free him is discussed by some of the commentaries. Abarbanel on Lech Lcha and Ramban on Genesis 11:28 mention the alternative view that a hidden miracle occurred that the thought to free Abraham was put into the kings heart to free him from prison.
4. Abarbanel, argues that whatever Abraham accomplished out of his own thinking and mind is less significant and worthy of being recorded in the Torah than what happened as a result of God speaking to him through prophecy.
5. See Likutei Diburim of the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, who links the meaning of the word Ivri/Hebrew to “one from the other side of the river” representing taking a different path to those around oneself.
6. I wonder why only the father rather than the mother is mentioned here. In the same vein, the name of Abraham’s father, Terach, is given in the Torah while the name of his mother is not stated. A Midrash (Pirkey D’Rabbi Eliezer, cited in Torah Shlaima vol.1 p.542, note 4) states that his mother’s name was Amaslah, Amaslai.
7. Genesis 12:1
8. Pirkey D’Rabbi Eliezer, cited in Torah Shlaima vol.1 p.542, note 4
9. Ramban
10. Abarbanel, see also Likutei Sichos vol. 1 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe
11. Genesis 17:10-14
12. Bereshit Rabba 44
13. Genesis 15:8
14. Bereshit Rabba 44
15. Proverbs 28:14
16. Ramban on Genesis 16:6
17. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, opening paragraph
Feature image is “Abraham Leading Isaac to Sacrifice” by Domenico Zampieri, 1581 – 1641

Title: Being Jewish: Dissent, Self-Criticism and Self-Doubt (Lech Lecha)
Author: Rabbi Zalman Kastel
Format: Blog Post
Published: October, 2015
Publisher: Torah for Socially Aware
Access: Online NSLF Library and http://torahforsociallyawarehasid.blogspot.com.au/

The post Being Jewish: Dissent, Self-Criticism and Self-Doubt (Lech Lecha) by Rabbi Zalman Kastel appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

Practicing Development as Freedom – Shanil Samarakoon

Admin — Fri, 15 May 2015 06:10:19 +0000

Shanil Samarakoon is the founder of Empower Inc, an organization which enables entrepreneurs to build self-reliant communities. Empower enables a five-year vision for communities by providing access to capital, sustainable technologies and capacity for building and support.

Shanil spent much of his early childhood in Botswana and Malawi and was connected with rural life in Southern Africa from a very young age. However, it was only in the tragic aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami in his native Sri Lanka that he discovered a profound sense of purpose. A business undergraduate at the time, he began to question how he was contributing to the world as the extent of his privilege and fortune became abundantly clear to him. Not knowing where the path would take him, he made the decision to follow his desire to contribute.

This journey took him across many remote regions of Sri Lanka as it reeled from the devastation of the Tsunami and a 30 year civil war. Working across several relief and development projects, he was deeply touched by the courage and determination of people who had endured incredible hardship and pain. Thereon he pursued postgraduate education in Australia and drew upon his passion and experience to positively contribute.

Title: Practicing Development as Freedom
Speaker: Shanil Samarakoon
Format: Video
Year published: 2012
Publisher: TEDx Talks Macquarie Univeristy
Access: https://youtu.be/nvJ7t7srg3o

The post Practicing Development as Freedom – Shanil Samarakoon appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

Reconnecting Humanity – Ehon Chan

Admin — Fri, 15 May 2015 06:05:40 +0000

Ehon Chan is a social entrepreneur, innovator and digital branding professional. Having grown up in a developing country, Ehon’s motivations are simple and compelling. He has seen first hand the inequalities life and society can bring. He has experienced loss and grief at a personal and community level. It is these life experiences that drive him to make the world a better place to live in.

Ehon led numerous community development and literacy projects throughout South East Asia before the age of 18. In 2009, Ehon co-founded News Unlimited, Brisbane’s leading digital entertainment magazine, and in 2010, he co-founded Youth Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation (YES) Brisbane, Brisbane’s first incubator program for young entrepreneurs and change makers. In 2011, Ehon created the award-winning suicide prevention campaign, “Soften the Fck Up” with a group of young men, and co-founded TeacherTime (formerly GetClassmate) which builds collaborative technologies for educators.

In 2009, Ehon was named “one of the world’s most inspiring young achievers and innovators under 30” by the Sandbox Network. He lived up to this honour, and in 2011 received Suicide Prevention Australia’s LIFE Award; was named amongst three finalists for the Queensland Mental Health Achievement Award; was labelled “Young and Influential” by Shoe String Launch Magazine; and was considered one of the “Top 100 most influential, inspirational, provocative and creative people” in Melbourne by The Age.

Title: Reconnecting Humanity
Speaker: Ehon Chan
Format: Video
Year Published: 2011
Publisher: TEDxTalks Macquarie University
Access: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNS56BM98Sc

The post Reconnecting Humanity – Ehon Chan appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.

School Transformation – Jihad Dib

Admin — Fri, 15 May 2015 06:00:27 +0000

Jihad Dib is the Principal of Punchbowl Boys’ High School in Sydney’s South West. Appointed to the role of Principal at 33, Jihad was one of the youngest principals in NSW when he took over and his modern approach revolutionised the school. Jihad’s leadership has led to a significant reduction in absenteeism, increased morale, surging enrolments and much-improved academic results at the school in the seven years he has been Principal.

In addition to outstanding outcomes within the school, Jihad’s philosophy of having his students actively engage with the wider community has established a wonderful sense of pride in the school among the Punchbowl community. The school was awarded a National Literacy and Numeracy Award and Director General’s Award, with Jihad himself winning the Inspiration category for NSW at the 2013 Pride of Australia Awards. Jihad’s work at Punchbowl Boys’ High School has been supported and recognised by many high-profile people, including 2013 Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose.

Title: School Transformation
Subtitle: Our Students Are Worth It
Speaker: Jihad Dib
Format: Video
Year Published: 2014
Publisher: TEDx Talks Sydney
Access: http://tedxsydney.com/site/speakerProfile.cfm?speaker=374

The post School Transformation – Jihad Dib appeared first on National Student Leadership Forum.