Event Photos

Mary Porter has opened the Giralang Primary School's Indigenous art exhibition as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations.

NAIDOC Week has been established as one of the main ways in which we celebrate and acknowledge the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the role our schools play in this role is critical to that celebration.

Wiradjuri man and local artist Duncan Smith has been working with Giralang students preparing them for NAIDOC Week through a series of workshops.

The seven members of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body have been announced following an election conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission.

Mary Porter joined with Indigenous television personality Ernie Dingo at the declaration of candidates in a ceremony in the Legislative Assembly on June 11 and encouraged all eligible Aboriginal and Torres Start Islanders living in Canberra to participate in the process.

All Canberra residents over the age of 75 are now able to travel free on ACTION services by applying for the new Gold Pass.

The Gold Pass initiative commenced on July 1 and is linked to the existing older drivers' awareness program where it is recommended that drivers over 75 consider their driving circumstances.

The objective of the scheme is to encourage drivers to consider surrendering their drivers licences, where they are no longer able to drive safely, by providing free travel on ACTION buses.

National Volunteer Week again saw Volunteering ACT announce their ACT Volunteer of the Year Awards.

Margo Hodge from Evatt, was named the 2008 Volunteer of the Year in recognition of her work with people with disabilities and also for her work as a volunteer co-ordinator / teacher at the ANU International Education Office's English classes for overseas students, researchers, visiting fellows and their families.

Margo is a paraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair following a car accident in 1974.

Mary Porter, Member for Ginninderra, has joined Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr, at the official opening of the new Giralang preschool and early intervention and autism units.

Mary Porter said the new facilities are a great example of collaboration between the ACT Government and the local community.

To celebrate World Environment Day, Mary Porter joined over 170 Greening Australia volunteers to plant more than 4250 young trees in the Lower Cotter Catchment. Since January this year volunteers have now planted over 16,000 new trees and since 2003 over 100,000 trees have been planted.

Greening Australia is driving a massive restoration effort in the Lower Cotter Catchment after the entire catchment area was devastated by the firestorm.

Mary Porter recently launched the annual Dance Week at the Belconnen Fresh Food Markets.

Speaking at the launch, Mary said that dancing covers a very broad range of styles whether it is old time, tap, jazz, rock and roll, swing, salsa, folk; you name it, there is something for everyone.

"Not only does it provide the opportunity for us to be physically active, but also allows us to meet new people and maintain our social networks. In other words it's good for our body, our spirit and our mind." Mary added.

"Growing older is all about living" was the theme for this year's Seniors Week.

One of the many popular events was the photographic competition, Life Reflection, which captured seniors living their lives in a positive way.

The entries were displayed in an exhibition at the Canberra Centre and featured photographs of ordinary people doing ordinary things but provided extraordinary images of positive aging.

Winner of the People's Choice Award was Tamara Makeev who has been taking photos for over 70 of her 84 years.

Theme of the recent Arthritis Awareness Week was 'It's your move', and to help those suffering from the disease a pack of new materials was launched.

It is estimated that currently 1 in 5 Australians are living with the condition and over half of the sufferers are under 60 years of age.

There are over 100 different forms of arthritis; however, the most common are osteoarthritis, which is largely due to wear and tear and gout, and rheumatoid arthritis.

On Stockdale Drive in Holt, just past the golf club, is the Strathnairn Homestead Gallery, a converted 1920's homestead which now houses a wide range of artists working in diverse mediums which includes potters, painters, sculptors, textile artists, print makers and wood workers.

The gallery features regular exhibitions of woodwork, photography, sculpture, glass, textiles, ceramics and jewellery and on the weekends displays and sells a range of its members works.