2009 'What Matters?' essay competition - winner announced
2009 'What Matters?' essay competition – winner announced
Loreto Kirribilli student Kate Jordan was announced as the overall winner of the 2009 'What Matters?' essay competition at a special awards ceremony at the UWS Parramatta campus on the 4th of June. Her essay 'My Sister Lily' was a heart-felt entry which focused on the importance of family and the complexities of autism.
The Hon. Gough Whitlam, AC QC was delighted to attend the ceremony to congratulate Kate and the other 'What Matters?' finalists. The 2009 competition has been proudly sponsored by Officeworks who proved to be wonderfully enthusiastic and supportive partners. Their backing has seen the competition expand again this year attracting a record total of 1114 entries from some 145 schools on a diverse range of topics including obesity, animal cruelty, family relationships, bullying, world poverty, social responsibility, global warming, and the importance and power of the inquiring mind.
Each year, the Whitlam Institute invites NSW and ACT school students in years 5-12 to submit a 400-600 word opinion piece on the issues in society that are important to them.
As part of special 'What Matters?' ceremony, competition patron Dr Hugh Mackay presented each category winner and runner-up with a certificate signed by Mr Whitlam, as well as a monetary prize and an invitation to attend a young writer's workshop.
ActNow, an initiative of the Inspire Foundation, also offered the year 11/12 category winner, Kar Leng Chui from Sydney Secondary College, with an all expenses paid place in their two-day 'Cash for Comment' writing program, and the ongoing opportunity to be paid for her writing.
Visit www.whitlam.org to download the finalist's entries
We’re hoping to have some good news on the 2010 competition to bring you soon.
