The McWhirter Foundation Melbourne Conference

Five of our scholarship recipients had the opportunity to attend the recent Melbourne conference of The McWhirter Foundation. Launched in the UK in 1975, the Foundation hosts education conferences for senior secondary students, from both state and independent schools. The aims of the Foundation are to promote:
• the principles and practice of good citizenship
• the importance of personal initiative and leadership
• the value of moral and physical courage
• the balance between individual responsibility and the role of the state
• the value of their own role in society

Dame Quentin Bryce is the Patron for the conference in Australia.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s Melbourne conference was held online on July 2 and 3 rather than at the University of Melbourne. The 2020 Melbourne topic was Post Covid-19, which is more important – the economy or the environment. This is what one of our scholarship recipients said about her experience:

”I found it was a very rewarding and illuminating experience as I had the opportunity to listen to a range of speakers with… interesting positions, stemming from their backgrounds in economics, aviation or environmental sciences. It was really fun and exciting to meet a group of like-minded students who were invested in the issues debated, and when the time came to discuss our thoughts… I realised that not only did I learn from the guest speakers, but from the students who made valuable contributions. It was a great learning experience for everyone involved, and because the topic was incredibly relevant to today’s society. I found that after the conference finished I continued the discussion with the people in my life and shared the new information I had learnt. The conference was the highlight of my holidays, it offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be part of something bigger - to spark a debate and influence change by sharing my views and having them challenged. Thank you to the The McWhirter Foundation and Western Chances for providing this wonderful opportunity.”