I'm excited to let you know that ABC Education recently published an Opinion article on coral bleaching written by one of our newest QA members, Year 10 student Gauri Bhandari – a remarkable achievement for a young writer! Gauri chose to explore how climate change is affecting the economy and job opportunities for young people in Cairns.
Gauri initially wrote a 300 word piece exploring how youth in Australia perceive the media in response to an online advertisement posted by Dr Tonya Nutley from Western University in Sydney, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts but also the Project Lead for a joint research project with QUT, Advancing the News Media Literacy of Young Australians.
Thereafter, she was one of only 20 students selected to attend a three day 'News Champion Forum' held at the Old Parliament House in Canberra. Representatives from the Australian media attended the event, including the Head of Digital Education at the ABC, Annabel Astbury, who invited Gauri to write a short pitch for ABC Education about a prominent societal issue. Gauri's pitch was successful and an invitation to write an Opinion article for ABC Education's website, soon followed.
Although Gauri was free to choose the focus and content of her Opinion piece, she participated fully in an extensive journalistic editing and redrafting process to refine her work, before the final publication of her article on February 17 February, 2021.
I'm sure you will enjoy reading Gauri's well-researched, thought provoking article as much as I did – you can 'like' the article to show your appreciation! While the threat of climate change is a real concern that we must all address together, I am confident that our future is in good hands.
View Gauri's article here
Mrs Karen Mackie
English Faculty