Australian water activist Mina Guli has undertaken a gruelling physical challenge to draw attention to the growing global water crisis. From November till February she is attempting to run 100 marathons in 100 days. The United Nations estimates that there will be a 40% shortfall between demand and supply for water globally by 2030. Increasing … Continue reading “Running Dry”
Uluru, the giant rock formation in the Australian desert is often used as a symbol of the country. To its Aboriginal traditional owners, it is sacred. After years of asking tourists to respect their beliefs and refrain from climbing the rock, it is to be closed in October 2019. The local people hope tourists will … Continue reading “Uluru to Close to Public”
The Invictus Games, initiated by Prince Harry for injured service people, is in Sydney, Australia for its fourth edition from 20 to 27 October. It is especially poignant in the weeks before the commemoration of the end of the First World War. Prince Harry served in the British Armed Forces for ten years. In 2013, … Continue reading “Game On Down Under”
250 years ago, Captain James Cook led the first of three expeditions to the Pacific which led to the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand. An exhibition at the British Library looks at the legacy of those expeditions, for Britain but also for the populations in the territories Cook visited. Cook was a Royal Navy … Continue reading “Captain Cook: Voyages to the Pacific”
In this A1+ article, your pupils will learn some basic facts about the Commonwealth, the four-yearly Commonwealth Games and Australia, which hosted the 2018 Games. They will compare the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, and learn the names of some sports like netball, which is played in British schools. Vocabulary and structure sports, countries numbers … Continue reading “Commonwealth Games”
Sixteen-year-old Melbourne schoolgirl Jade Hameister loves a challenge, and she isn’t going to let sexist Internet trolls affect her ambitions. She recently set a polar record: she is the youngest person to achieve the “polar hat-trick” of skiing to both poles and across Greenland. When she reached the South Pole, she sent a feminist message … Continue reading “Sandwiches, Skis and Self-Esteem”
This A1+ document is about teenage Australian adventurer Jade Hameister, whose dream came true in January 2018 when she completed the third challenge in the polar hat-trick, becoming the youngest person to ski to both Poles and Greenland. Interestingly, although we can expect her to be considered a superhero by A1+ students, she insists on … Continue reading “Polar Adventurer”
Sixteen-year old Jade Hameister from Melbourne, Australia, has undertaken a series of physical challenges from climbing to the base camp on Mount Everest to skiing to the North and South Poles. She is also an inspiring speaker and wants to encourage other young people, and particularly girls, to have the courage to test themselves, even … Continue reading “Polar Adventurer Video Resources”
On 26 January every year, ceremonies are held all over Australia to welcome new citizens as part of Australia Day celebrations. But the 2018 national day was overshadowed by debates about citizenship, and about finding a date for Australia Day that is less offensive to Aboriginal people. Citizenship was a major issue in the Australian … Continue reading “Australian Identity Crisis”
A few years ago I was contemplating the idea of taking students across the globe for an Aussie experience, but it seemed out of reach: too far, too expensive, inconceivable… Until one day, in 2011, as I was looking for a new exchange for my school with an Anglophone country, I decided I would dare … Continue reading “An Incredible Australian Exchange”