On Thursday 27 April one of our life members, Janice Kelly, received her OAM for her tireless work for the community.
At U3A Banyule, Janice has been a tutor in Philosophy for very many years, she was President for 4 years and Course Coordinator for 2 years among a whole range of other roles and activities. During these years U3A went through many changes, including our going online and our move to ILCH.
Janice was our liaison person with Banyule Council from the very beginning of the plans for the new Community Centre. She ensured we had a top-class facility that demonstrated our importance to the community. She still plays a pivotal role in our dealing with Council. A well-deserved award!
Our ‘Technical Guru’ Michael Maguire has recently been honoured with two significant awards. On April 2, he was presented with a Jagajaga Community Volunteer Award by Kate Thwaites MP. The citation for Michael read as follows:
"Michael is U3A Banyule’s Technology Coordinator. He provides technology support to the organisation, to its members and to the Banyule community. Michael has conducted technology classes for over 50s, introduced the use of video conference technology during COVID lockdowns, trained U3A facilitators and shared his vast knowledge of information security. An exceptional teacher, Michael is always keen to share his passion.”
On 12 May, Michael was short-listed from an Australia-wide field, by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission, for his significant voluntary contribution to the not-for-profit sector. It was acknowledged that he has positively impacted the lives of many others, by skilling them in the effective and safe use of smartphones and computers.
We congratulate Michael and thank him for all he does.
(as at 25 April 2022)
Restrictions have eased but let’s still look after everyone in our community:
Most of our news is sent out by email and it is important to keep your email address in MyU3A up to date. You may also need to alter your email security settings to ensure U3A Banyule emails arrive in your Inbox, instead of going into your Junk Mail.
For instructions on how to update your email address through MyU3A (Member Log In) and how to review your email security settings, see this handy information.
Annual Forum 2021 - recording and relevant websites
U3A Banyule Annual Forum (via a Zoom webinar) was held on Monday, 22 November, 2021.
Topic: ‘In a democracy such as ours, who is speaking and who is listening when it comes to climate change?’
The proceedings were recorded and can be viewed here.
The Webinar Speakers were:
Judith Brett
Emeritus Professor in Politics, La Trobe University and author
Ian Cunliffe
Lawyer and former CEO Constitutional Commission, CEO Law Reform Commission, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, author on legal issues
Lynn Frankes
Lawyer and Co-convenor of Lighter Footprints
The websites mentioned were:
Lighter Footprints www.lighterfootprints.org
Climate For Change Conversation Guide: https://www.climateforchange.org.au/download_guide
Climate Council Conversation Guide: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/climate-conversation-guides/
Lighter Footprints letter writers blog: https://lighterfootprints.org/want-to-write-a-letter-to-the-editor-heres-how/
InfluenceMap : https://australia.influencemap.org/
Climate for Change MP Engagement: https://www.climateforchange.org.au/mpeg_resourcesnew
ACF polling: https://togetherwecanmovement.org.au/poll
Banyule Transition website https://transitionaustralia.net/site/transition-banyule/ (or call Mary Stringer 0431 026 723)
Banyule Transition Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/banyuletransition/
Banyule Parents for Climate Action Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/493102244657554Banyule
Parents for Climate Action: https://www.ap4ca.org
