Healthy and Sustainable Agricultural Communities is a postgraduate unit offered through Deakin University, School of Medicine.  It will run from 9th July – 19th October, 2012 and is completed entirely online and can be undertaken as either a single professional development unit or as an elective toward a postgraduate qualification.

The curriculum has been developed to be relevant to nurses, general practitioners, veterinarians, health specialists, policy makers, allied health, rural and agricultural professionals.  This unit will detail the health, well-being and safety issues experienced by agricultural populations and develop the next generation of rural and agricultural health leaders.

The scholarships are valued at $750 can be used by successful applicants to subsidise unit fees.

Selection criteria

Preference will be given to applicants who do not have access to financial support from either their workplace or other funding agencies.  Individuals living or working in rural and remote areas, postgraduate students and non-government employees are encouraged to apply.  Professionals with a track record of commitment to rural health are also eligible for funding.

How to apply

Please complete the online form at http://www.farmerhealth.org.au/?q=node/2954

Further information

If you would like more information about the Healthy and Sustainable Agricultural Communities course HMF702, The Graduate Certificate of Agricultural Medicine or the scholarship application please visit our website at www.farmerhealth.org.au or contact us at the National Centre for Farmer Health.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The funding, announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, will coincide with a number of initiatives that will revitalise the award and broaden its appeal and reach.

The Rural Industries R&D Corporation’s Managing Director, Craig Burns said the Award plays an important role in both promoting the role of rural women and helping to build their leadership capabilities.

“The Rural Women’s Award is the nation’s largest, most highly regarded and most prominent award for rural women,” Mr Burns said.

“The next few years will be a very exciting time for the Rural Women’s Award and the $75,000 in Commonwealth funding for each of the next three years will allow the Rural Industries R&D Corporation to further establish it as the peak Award for Australia’s rural women.

“We want as many Australian women to know about the Award and to get involved by either being nominated themselves or nominating someone else. In the next few years we’ll be actively going about making sure as many of Australia’s women are exposed to the Award in one way or another.

“We are excited about the future of the Award and despite its longevity there is great potential for the Award to develop and grow and become more contemporary and accessible to a wider number of Australian rural women.”

The Award’s state and territory winners receive a $10,000 financial bursary to implement their award vision.

Each state winner and runner-up also has the opportunity to participate in an Australian Institute of Company Directors learning program and is supported to develop an individual integrated leadership plan.

The Rural Women’s Award 2012 Celebratory Dinner, where the national winner is announced, will be held on 9 October at Parliament House in Canberra. Traditionally held in May, the national Award dinner has been moved to later in the year to allow for the state finalists to implement their award vision, which is funded by their bursaries, before the national winner is announced.

The RIRDC Rural Women’s Award is open to all women involved in primary industries and natural resource management and no formal qualifications are required.

The Award’s national partner is the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and its national sponsors are Westpac Banking Corporation, OUTBACK magazine, ABC Radio and Rural Press Ltd.

Media enquiries:
Damon Whittock – RIRDC Public Affairs Manager – 02 6271 4175 or 0458 215 604

(Source: http://www.rirdc.gov.au/news-&-events/news-display.cfm?article=F2753A07-C41C-3DDA-3A61-46F3588FC4D2)

A new article from BlackboardBlogs. The National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC), a not-for-profit organisation, is using Blackboard Collaborate to reach women in rural, regional, and remote areas in Australia in a way they never could before. [Read More...]

Our second community consultation for our violence prevention toolkit was scheduled for Broken Hill, NSW – the ‘gateway to the outback’. According to Google Maps, from my house in Lennox Head to Broken Hill is 1,538 km – or 17 hours 36 minutes by car. Thankfully, I could fly from Ballina to Sydney then to Broken Hill (via Dubbo).

A diverse group of service providers attended the consultation, which was kindly hosted by the Broken Hill Family Violence Prevention Legal Service. These included representatives from Centrelink, corrections, youth services, Aboriginal Affairs as well as several social work students. It was encouraging to see the way the community had shown such support for our visit.

I was glad to hear that some of the group had been working with local schools to deliver NAPCAN’s ‘Love Bites’ program, which encourages young people to develop safe and respectful relationships. This is a popular and effective method of preventing domestic violence and sexual assault.

Among the group’s wishes were resources that could be adapted to the diverse and different needs of local communities. They also wanted to see a multi-disciplinary approach to primary violence prevention that engaged a whole range of service providers such as police, teachers, nurses, social workers and local and state government employees. Most importantly, the group saw a need for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to work together to build their knowledge and ability to implement primary prevention programs.

My trip may have been short, but I will have a lasting impression of a vibrant and thriving city full of friendly people who were committed to their community. Here’s hoping we get to return to Broken Hill and continue to work with these community leaders to build their capacity to prevent violence against women.

Kiri Dicker is the Project Manager for the Community Leadership in Primary Violence Prevention project. The project is a partnership with the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC), the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) and the QLD Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research. For any enquiries about the toolkit, please contact Kiri at kiri@tolc.com.au

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people between the ages of 16 and 25, who are passionate about making positive changes in their communities, are invited to apply. In all, 48 young people will be chosen to represent their communities and have the chance to speak up on issues that are important to them during the Youth Parliament, which will be held in late May 2012.

Participants will undergo a training weekend in April, where they will learn to draft a parliamentary bill. They will then attend a week-long residential program in Canberra and present their bills in the Old Parliament House. Social activities and opportunities to meet MPs are also included.

To download an application pack, go to the following Australian Electoral Commission web page: http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/indigenous_vote/niyp.htm The closing date for applications is 30 March and cost for participation is $200 (all other costs including accommodation, if necessary, will be covered).

Sources: Youth Field Xpress, No. 186, February 2012  /  AYF News (electronic newsletter of the Australian Youth Forum), 16 February 2012.

Read more here: http://www.actionaid.org/activista/2012/03/power-rural-women’s-network…

• Family violence
• Rural health
• Development of the National Rural Womens’ Network
• The federal budget- how can we get a slice of the pie?
• Housing policy and older women

As Australian rural communities continue to face a multitude of challenges, online technologies help to bridge the gaps created by distance. The five topics covered in the E-Learning & Leadership Program include Building Leaders, Better Business Skills, Networking and Social Media, Community Capacity Building and Climate Change Action. Each topic was delivered by a presenter using Blackboard Collaborate, an interactive, online learning environment to the 20 program participants across rural Australia.

“It’s like a suburb built in the middle of a heap of paddocks,” Kate Lawrence, project coordinator of Weather the Storm – Women Prepare, describes the location of the first series of Weather the Storm workshops. Filled with young families and a high proportion of women at home, the district of Doreen, south of fire-affected Whittlesea in Victoria, is on Melbourne’s rural fringe.

In this case, the program not only offers advice and knowledge about disaster preparation but also provides a place for other women to meet and network; a mobile childcare service only increases the participants’ engagement. “Some of these women experienced the 2009 fires but all the participants are here to learn about evacuation plans and risk management. In the process they’re making new friends and becoming much more connected to their community.”

From Melbourne’s outer north, Kate will soon travel to sugarcane and coastal communities around McKay, Queensland, to run the next two workshop series consecutively.

For more information on this program or to enquire about holding a program in your area, go to the project website, http://www.weatherthestorm.net.au, filled with information both for participants or others who may be interested.