FIRE Carriers Conference

The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry has a leadership program operating in Catholic schools throughout Victoria called the FIRE Carriers (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) program. Avila College has been involved with the program since its inception. Each year students involved in educating communities about reconciliation meet at a conference and this year it was hosted by Avila College on 11 March.

Students participated in a model United Nations meeting of the General Assembly to discuss the recongnition of Indigenous peoples and treaties.The day was facilitated by the United Nations Association of Australia. Students were divided into teams, assigned a country and asked to research and represent their First Peoples to achieve the best outcome for them. 

Guest speaker Vicki Clark addressed the conference about First People’s rights in Australia and outlined her work in reconciling Australia’s Indigenous peoples.The conference was very successful with students identifying sensible and sustainable resolutions for reconciliation.