About Our Partners
Major Partners
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) is part of the Australian Government's family and community services portfolio and is responsible for about a quarter of the government's budgetary outlays. The portfolio is responsible for a broad range of social policies and support affecting Australian society and the living standards of Australian families.
The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is a major partner of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and aims to:
• strengthen disadvantaged communities and give children a better start in life;
• build community capacity;
• work together in partnerships;
• encourage a preventative and early intervention approach;
• increase youth participation;
Visit www.thesource.gov.au for more information.
The Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) has been a major partner of the Wakakirri Story Festival since 2004. The Department hosts a large portfolio which now incorporates early childhood education, school education and higher education, as well as employment and workplace relations policies and services.
Funding for the Wakakirri Story Festival is provided under the National School Drug Education Strategy (NSDES). The NSDES provides national resources for drug education in schools, and also focuses on resilience building in young people as an effective deterrent to risky behaviour such as taking drugs. With this aim, the REDI (Resilience Education and Drug Information) resources were developed. The resources are the first school drug education resources focusing on preventing and reducing harm from drug use by building more resilient young people and helping schools to build a whole of school approach to tackling drug issues.
The Wakakirri Story Festival promotes the NSDES philosophies by allowing young people to express themselves creatively, work in a team and of course, have fun in a safe and supportive environment. DEEWR would like to wish all entrants the very best of luck in the competition.
For more information of the REDI resources, please go to www.redi.gov.au. Other Departmental information can be found at www.deewr.gov.au.
National Story Week Partner
Allen & Unwin is one of Australia's leading independent publishers and distributors. They have been voted "Publisher of the Year" by Australian Booksellers in 1992 (the inaugural award), 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
They are a proud supporter of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and are the Official Presenting Partner of National Story Week in 2008. Their support has taken National Story Week to new heights and will help raise awareness of the entire Festival. National Story Week (December 08) is the culmination of our year long event and it showcases the the varied and diverse works produced by schools around Australia.
Allen & Unwin have many talented authors and illustrators including:
Picture books - Ron Brooks & Margaret Wild, Anna Fienberg & Kim Gamble, Roland Harvey, Leigh Hobbs, Alison Lester, Gregory Rogers, Drahos Zak
Children’s fiction - Terry Denton, Odo Hirsch, Elizabeth Honey, Martine Murray, Meme McDonald & Boori Pryor, Nury Vittachi, Adeline Yen Mah
Young adult fiction - Alyssa Brugman, Judith Clarke, Ursula Dubosarsky, Steven Herrick, Joanne Horniman, Catherine Jinks, Barry Jonsberg, Margo Lanagan, Kirsty Murray, Garth Nix
Non-fiction - John Nicholson, Nadia Wheatley
Media Partners
Network Ten is one of Australia’s three national commercial television broadcasters, with stations in each of the country’s five mainland capital cities. With a firm focus on viewers under 40, TEN has won each of the past four ratings years in that demographic.
Network TEN has been a proud media partner of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and continues to showcase their support by airing the Network TEN TV Special in December every year.
Network TEN proudly encourages an “ideas culture”, where all members of the team know that part of their job is looking for ways to do things better and smarter. It’s why all areas of their business – from programming, through to sales, administration, broadcast operations and technical services – consistently deliver above expectations.
Visit www.networkten.com.au for the latest information on programming.
Education Today and Schooldays for Parents are quarterly magazines with a focus on the positives in education. Education Today contains editorials designed to uplift and inspire teachers while Schooldays for Parents contains information on dealing with all aspects of school education from Kindergarten to Year 12.
As media partners, Education Today and Schooldays for Parents share our vision of promoting the educational benefits of telling and sharing stories.
Education Today and Schooldays for Parents will be promoting the festival through their publications and will also publish the winning Story-Writing entries.
Check out www.educationtoday.com.au and www.schooldays.net.au/Home.html
State Government Partners
Queensland Education, Training and the Arts are a major partner of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and support the educational value behind the Festival. QLD’s diverse schools and dedicated teachers are at the heart of Queensland's Smart State vision.
Visit www.education.qld.gov.au/schools/ for more information. Find insightful Curriculum advice, and updates about Smart Classrooms. Learn about the new Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework will be introduced, setting new standards to define what is studied in all Queensland schools, and how it is assessed and reported.
The School Watch Program historically has had a police officer appointed to work directly with the Education Department and has its main focus as safety within the places of education. For this reason, any other programs that are linked to schools and other places of learning are grouped within the School Watch, such as Campus Watch. School Watch focuses on creating a safer place at our learning centres by reducing the opportunities for crime and unacceptable social behaviour.
School Watch SA this year are offering funding as prizes to the schools in SA who elect to perform a story on Anti-Bullying, Anti- Graffiti, Safe Routes to School, Anti-Drugs, Home Safety or Places to turn for Help.
Visit www.police.sa.gov.au/operations/community/cpsb_nhw.htm for more information.
Community Partners
The Australian Human Rights Commission was established in 1986 by an act of the Federal Parliament.
Their goal is to foster greater understanding and protection of human rights in Australia and to address the human rights concerns of a broad range of individuals and groups.
Tom Calma is the Aboriginal and
We are proud to announce that Tom Calma is the patron of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and is delighted to be able to endorse the Festival. Read more about Wakakirri patrons…
Read more about the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and their Voices of Australia Project http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/voices/index.html
The 'Voices of Australia’ magazine features a collection of real-life stories about diversity and living together in contemporary Australia as well as other information about the Racial Discrimination Act. Voices of Australia: Education Module allows for the different stories of Australian people to be heard and celebrated in the classroom. Students will increase their awareness about experiences of diversity, discrimination, race relations, friendship, and respect.
The principal objective of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) is to work closely with industry, Government, law enforcers, educational institutions and the public in Australia to address the issue of copyright theft and protect the interests of the film and television industries, along with those of movie lovers in this country.
AFACT recognises the importance of original youth works and is a proud supporting partner of the National Story Festival 2008. They are offering a great prize to the primary and high school winners of Story-Film as well as educational resources for teachers and students in copyright understanding
How can you protect your work as a student? Call 1800 251 996 for more information on the protection of copyright or use our online resources to understand more about copyright protection. http://www.afact.com.au
Environmental Partners
The Australian Conservation Foundation is committed to inspiring people to achieve a healthy environment for all Australians. For 40 years they have been a strong voice for the environment, promoting solutions through research, consultation, education and partnerships. They work with the community, business and government to protect, restore and sustain our environment.
The ACF are our founding partners of Eco-Zone and are proud to be associated with the Wakakirri National Story Festival. www.acfonline.org.au
The mission of the Purves Environmental Fund is to advance, primarily through education of individuals and organisations, environmental sustainability and preservation of biodiversity. The Fund was established in August 2004 by Robert Purves, who is committed to making an impact for a better environment. Robert is a businessman and environmentalist.
An Meá demonstrates that protecting people and the planet is good for business. An Meá calls this 'sustainable development'. We also run programs aimed at helping communities to think and act in a sustainable manner. Eco-Zone was established in 1997 by An Meá and founding partners Wakakirri and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
An Meá is our proud founding partner and provides strong strategic direction for the future of Eco-Zone. www.anmea.com.au
The objective of Zero Waste SA is to promote waste management practices that, as far as possible, eliminate waste or its consignment to landfill, advance the development of resource recovery and recycling, and are based on an integrated strategy for the State.
Zero Waste is a proud supporting partner of Eco-Zone and proud to be associated with the National Story Festival. Zero Waste SA has compiled a wealth of information in this library of reader-friendly fact sheets which cover everything from aluminium cans to worms and other zero waste issues. These fact sheets are handy for students and anyone who wants to know more about what can and cannot be recycled, and why! These fact sheets are aimed at providing the South Australian community with an easy-to-read resource that enables greater understanding of waste issues. Visit www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/factsheets.php to access the fact sheets.
ACT NOWaste is committed to providing educational opportunities to schools and the wider community. Increasing awareness and knowledge about waste avoidance and creating a desire to change is essential in achieving the goals of NO Waste by 2010.
ACT NOWaste is a proud Government Partner of Eco-Zone and proud to be associated with the Wakakirri National Story Festival. ACT NOWaste has great resources on reducing and recycling waste. Teachers can visit www.nowaste.act.gov.au/ed/teachers.html for some valuable classroom activities, term long programs and workshops you can book.
The Steel Can Recycling Council is an industry body dedicated to promoting steel can recycling in Australia. The Steel Can Recycling Council encourages consumers to send their steel cans to recycling rather than to landfill. Steel Can Recycling in Australia is a proud supporter of the Eco-Zone program and sustainable philosophy of the environmental education program within the Wakakirri National Story Festival.
They have some great resources too and are available from the Eco-Zone website under 'Other Clever Stuff', including the steel can story!
For more information on how to recycle steel and the Steel Can Recycling Council visit their website www.cansmart.org.au
Competition Partners
Everyone is welcome to access NIDA through the Open Program, which offers part-time courses, short courses, master-classes, seminars and productions.
NIDA Open Program is a proud partner of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and is awarding the NSW Primary and High School Winners full day workshops.
NIDA Open Program's short courses in theatre, film and television give you a distillation of elements of the full-time courses. It's a great way to be introduced to NIDA's training and creative processes as well as the broad range of career opportunities in the entertainment industry.
Open Program courses and production opportunities give you the freedom to experiment creatively with forms of communication, story-telling and entertainment.
Phone: (02) 9697 7626
Visit www.nida.com.au/short_courses/open/default.html for more information.
Spotlight is Australia's Largest Chain of Fabric, Craft and Home Interiors Superstores. With 100 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore it provides millions of customers with a choice of fashionable, desirable and affordable products at the most competitive price.
Spotlight is a proud supporting partner of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and is awarding a $200 Spotlight Voucher to every winning school in every state in every division of Story Dance for 2008!
Visit www.spotlight.com.au for more information.
Imagine...a place where you share your creative endeavours with like-minded people, where your mind and your body are stretched and your imagination is sparked.
Imagine... where you have the opportunity to work with and learn from the best practitioners, and academics in your chosen art form, where the emphasis is on vocational training as well as academic study.
Imagine a place where intensive training, tuition and rehearsals culminate in public performances, concerts and exhibitions throughout the year.
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Edith Cowan University was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition comparable to the highest calibre of national and international training benchmarks to be able to meet industry needs around the globe.
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts is thrilled to be part of the Wakakirri National Story Festival and the story telling tradition it enables and inspires. They are offering an exclusive explore extension course to the winning WA school of Story Dance 2008!
You may have an interest, a passion, or want to pursue a career in the performing arts. Here is where you find out about all the courses you can study at WAAPA. Please click on to www.waapa.ecu.edu.au/courses.php
