Some of Our Parts

• Have fun, make new friends and hang out with other young adults who ‘get’ you
• Challenge yourself and share your Autistic talents and quirks
• Contribute your ideas for the growth of the I Can Network
• Wow us at the ‘Dress to Obsess’ dance-off
• Be trained as an I Can mentor so you can make a difference to other young people
• Cook up a storm in I Can Master Chef
• Engage with great storytellers including Chris Varney, Tim Chan, Jim Anderson, Lyndel Kennedy and Julia Wake

See the I Can Camp 25 – 27 April promotional leaflet here for more details.

What is this all about? Well, our story is simple. We began in September 2013 when three university students said they were sick of Australia missing out on the gifts of the Autism Spectrum. That we’re missing out is plain to see: only 34% of Australians with Autism are employed.

Since then we’ve used our ‘I Can’ attitudes to ignite a movement. A movement that isn’t about ‘high-functioning’ or ‘low-functioning’ but a movement that’s about all of us! Now we give talks every week. Now we’re over 500 people who believe that Autism means ‘I Can’, not ‘I Can’t’. Now we want to take the ‘I Can’ belief and unleash it in every school, university and TAFE. That’s what we’re starting at the I Can Camp.

Thank you and keep believing in us!

The I Can Team

PS: Keep an eye out for our upcoming Grapevine coming out on World Autism Awareness Day, Wednesday 2 April

One World Festivals celebrate the diversity of cultural life on campus and in Australia. It aims to encourage better cross cultural awareness and understanding.

A One World Festival is held on all campuses. During the festival there will be a variety of activities including music, food and dance from other countries. Many events are run by the student associations and international student organisations on each campus.

All Monash staff and students are invited to participate in this year’s activities.

The One World Festival runs from Monday 7th – Wednesday 9th April, 2014, 11am – 3pm

Monday 7 April

Exchange and Experience Expo

Monash Abroad’s exchange and experience expo is the “must-attend” event if you want to broaden your horizons by studying overseas or just want to know more about Monash Abroad.At the expo you can:

• talk face-to-face with overseas partners;
• get advice from Monash Abroad cooridinators; and
• open your mind to a world of global programs at Monash.

Partners you can meet:

Free University of Berlin – Germany; Lulea Institute of Technology – Swedan; Maastricht University – The Netherlands; Michigan State University – USA; National University of Singapore – Singapore; Nanyang Technical University – Singapore; University of Bergen – Norway; University of British Columbia – Canada; University of Campinas – Brazil; University of Copenhagen – Denmark; University Diego Pontales – Chile; University of East Anglia – UK; The Chinese University of Hong Kong – Hong Kong; Warwick University – UK; Yonsei University – Korea; Monash Abroad; Monash South Africa – South Africa; Embassy of France – France; Canadian High Commission – Canada; AIM Overseas; DAAD – Germany; CIS Australia; CRCC Asia; ACICIS – Indonesia; Globallinks; Australian Friends of Hebrew University – Israel; and Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University – Israel.

For more info on partners and sessions running during the week, check out the Monash Expo website.

Delicious array of Malay and Thai noodles being served from 12:30pm and sound shell performances running all day.

Tuesday 8 April

Highlighting the array of internationally diverse clubs present at Monash, through culturally focused club demonstrations, performances and activities.

Clubs attending are:

• Monash Photography Club – photoboard
• Monash Overseas and Exchange Club – cultural face painting
• Australia-China Youth Association – dice playing game, calligraphy, Chinese tea art & Chinese kite flying
• Monash International Affairs Society – Humans of Monash photo booth & global mosaics
• Monash Japanese Club & Society for Anime and Manga Appreciation – origami workshop
• Monash internationally focused programs will be on display, including: Monash Abroad, Monash Malaysia, Monash South Africa, Arts in Prato, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Law, Monash Short Courses, AIESEC Monash, Employment and Career Development; Engineers without Borders and Faculty of Science.

For more info on partners and sessions running during the week, check out the Monash Expo website.

Chicken and chorizo Spanish paella and Chinese dumplings being served from 12:30pm and sound shell performances running all day.

Wednesday 9 April

Highlighting the array of internationally diverse clubs present at Monash, through culturally focused club demonstrations, performances and activities.

Clubs attending are:

• Monash Photography Club – photoboard
• Oxfam at Monash – fair trade goods display
• Monash Overseas and Exchange Club – cultural face painting
• Monash Jewish Students’ Society – Western Wall in Jerusalem and large scale world map tracing ancestral movements around the globe
• Australia-China Youth Association – dice throwing game, writing your name using calligraphy and traditional Chinese tea art
• Indonesian Club – Indonesian and Sundandese language study and collarge about Indonesian culture and history
• Monash International Affairs Society – Humans of Monash photo booth, global mosaic
• Monash African Students’ Society – hair braiding, best African inspired outfit compeition, African artifces, jewellery and instruments on display
• Monash Japanese Club & Society for Anime and Manga Appreciation – Origami workshop, calligraphy workshop, Japanese games, Japanese dress
• Monash French Society – Pentanque (French boules)
• AIESEC Monash – photo booth with various international backdrops and props

Feast of pizza and tasty Argentinean cusine being served from 12:30pm, including chorizo sandwiches, chicken wings and vegetarian quesadillas and sound shell performances running all day.

Colour Dash

Inspired by the Indian festival Holi and by the Colour Run that takes place globally, the non-residential colleges are putting together the Colour Dash to conclude the Festival!

The Colour Dash is a short track (between 2 & 3km) that can be walked, jogged or run where at five checkpoints, volunteers will be waiting with a handful of coloured powder to throw on you.

Date: Wednesday 9th of April

Time: 3pm

Location: Oval 3, near the Engineering Buildings and opposite the tennis courts.

For more information, check out the One World Festival website and Facebook page.

Stepping into… is a paid internship program specifically designed for students with disability, who want a paid, hands-on work experience that is relevant to their degree and chosen field of study.

Organisations that are offering the paid internships below are members of the Australian Network on Disability (AND), and are participating in Australia’s leading internship program for university students with disability. Participating organisations include both corporate and government organisations.

The organisations that are offering opportunities this winter are:

• Department of Agriculture – Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide
• Department of Industry – Canberra, Sydney
• Henry Davis York – Sydney
• Sparke Helmore – Sydney, Brisbane
• Crown Solicitors Office – Sydney
• NSW Ombudsman – Sydney
• Telstra – Sydney, Melbourne
• Australian Financial Securities Authority (AFSA) – Sydney, Melbourne
• Department of Human Services VIC – Melbourne
• IBM – locations TBC

Important:
You will be required to attend a briefing session to be considered for an internship, as part of the selection process. Please refer to the details on the website.

To find out about the opportunities and how to apply, visit AND’s website on the below link:
http://www.and.org.au/pages/stepping-into…-programs.html

• Look under “Apply for Winter 14”
• You can find out more about “Stepping into…” under “Information for Students”
• You can download application form from the webpage

For updates, like us on Facebook

For further enquiries, contact:

Jenny Watts-Sampson
Stepping into… Program Manager
jenny.watts-sampson@and.org.au
(02) 8270 9200
www.and.org.au

Last night ABC’s Lateline aired Rosie Anne Fulton’s story.

Ms Fulton is an Aboriginal woman, and has an intellectual disability. For the past 18 months she has been held in Kalgoorlie prison, accused – but not convicted – of crimes relating to the use of a motor vehicle. She was found unfit to plead as a result of her disability. Ms Fulton and her guardian have sought her return to a care facility in Alice Springs, but this has been refused by the Northern Territory Government.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes are urging the WA and NT governments to immediately resolve Ms Fulton’s situation, to carry out an audit of how many other Australians were being treated in this way, and to quickly address the problem.

You can read the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report, Equal Before the Law: Toward Disability Justice Strategies which was launched in February. The report addresses the lack of equal access to justice for Australians with disabilities and how we can work toward implementing better policies and strategies.

Grants are now open for emerging young leaders in the disability sector to attend the 7th session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in New York from 10 – 12 June 2014. This is a unique professional opportunity and young delegates will be provided with training and mentoring to build their capacity to participate at the UN. These grants will provide an important opportunity for the next generation of young disability rights advocates to represent the Australian disability sector at the UN.

This program:

1.  Begins with a training workshop in Sydney on 22 May 2014. The workshop topics include:

• What is the COSP? What is the role of civil society at the COSP?
• What will I do at the COSP?
• What will I need to prepare for the COSP?

2.  The delegates will fly to New York where they will network with some of the key players in the international disability movement, learn about strategic advocacy and its application to domestic advocacy and visit important UN organisations.

3. Go on to attend the civil society forum (date TBC) and the Conference of States Parties from 10 – 12 June 2014 at the UN.

4. When the delegates come back there will be a post-event debrief in late June to help incorporate learnings into disability advocacy at the national level

The theme of the COSP will be advised as soon as it becomes available.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for young emerging leaders in the disability sector. Preferably, the young applicant will be between 18 – 30 years of age. DPOs and DAOs are strongly encouraged to nominate young persons with a disability.

How much funding is provided?

The Commission will provide grants for the young delegates to attend the training workshop, the COSP and the post-event debrief. Applicants are required to submit a budget including a breakdown of costs such as food, accommodation and flights.

Successful delegates are encouraged to raise some funds from sponsorship.

More information about grants can be found here: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability-international-participation-funding-program-faq.

Application process

DPOs/DAOs must supply the following information in the application:

• Information about the organization
• Name of organization
• How the delegate’s participation will positively impact on the work of the DPO/DAO
• Information about the young applicant
• Name
• Age
• Gender
• Does the applicant have a disability?
• Email
• Phone number
• Qualifications (if any)
• Relevant achievements or academic awards
• Relevant experience in the disability sector
• What the applicant thinks they can contribute to the event
• The applicant’s knowledge of the UN process, the COSP and theme of the COSP (if available)
• Preparation and post event reporting plans
• Budget
• Proposed funding sought
• Other sources of funding available

Please submit the application to disability@humanrights.gov.au.

Selection process

The delegates will be selected by a Selection Committee on the basis of the written application. Successful applicants will be notified in early May.

Criteria for selection

Applicants must be nominated by a DPO/DAO.

Applicants should preferably be between 18 to 30 years of age.

Preference will be given to applicants with a disability.

The Selection Committee will seek to ensure a gender balance in the delegation

Applicants must be able to attend the pre-training workshop in May, the COSP in June and the post-event debrief in late June. Applicants must also be willing to undertake relevant post-event activities.

Applicant’s knowledge of the COSP, the theme of the COSP (if available) and the work of the UN CRPD treaty body

Applicant’s knowledge of the Australian disability sector

Budget proposal. Co-contribution to costs will be viewed favourably

Any questions?

If you have further questions about this program, please send an email to: disability@humanrights.gov.au

Applications close COB Wednesday April 30, 2014.

Arts Projects Australia is located in inner city Melbourne, and is a studio and gallery that exists to nurture and promote artists with an intellectual disability as they develop their body of work.

Arts Projects Australia was founded in 1974 based on the philosophy that their featured artists’ work be presented in a professional manner and that artists were accorded the same dignity and respect as their non-disabled peers. The organisation promotes and exhibits artists’ work as belonging to the broad spectrum of contemporary art, and studio artists are represented in mainstream art exhibitions and events.

Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, Arts Projects kicked off their 2014 program with two concurrent exhibitions, Tim William’s Solo show and a group show called Animal Magnetism.

Julian Martin Not titled (2012) from Animal Magnetism

Arts Projects Australia are a not-for-profit organisation, and rely on government funds, personal and philanthropic donations, and commissions from artwork sales to continue their work.

Are you looking for a graduate position in the Australian Public Service? Would you like to join the largest premier development program for tax administration in Australia?

The ATO will provide you with a dynamic and rewarding career in a high profile national organisation.

We offer excellent professional development opportunities through a highly-regarded graduate program and beyond.

The graduate development program offers positions to graduates who have a degree or higher in:

• Accounting
• Information Technology
• Commerce
• Design
• Communications and Marketing
• Economics
• Finance
• Human Resource Management
• Business
• Law
• Social Sciences

We recognise the diversity of the Australian community and the unique skills this knowledge brings to the organisation.

The ATO supports the attraction, employment and retention of people with disability through our Access and Inclusion Plan, and welcomes applications from eligible graduates with disability to join the 2015 program.

This year, the ATO will participate in the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) RecruitAbility Scheme. The RecruitAbility scheme defines a disability as: “a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least 6 months and restricts everyday activities”. This also includes episodic conditions if they are likely to recur.

When completing your application, if you have any specific needs to assist your participation in the selection process then please advise us of these needs on your application.

Applications close on 08 April 2014. Find out more at www.destination.ato.gov.au or www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/careers

Join our team and help us shape and manage revenue systems which support and fund services for all Australians.

Do you want to gain paid work experience in a leading organisation?

Build a networks of contacts?

Develop valuable skills and experience?

Stepping into… is a paid internship program designed specifically for university students with disability, who want to gain some paid hands-on work experience in their chosen field of study. The Australian Network on Disability (AND), work with their members to identify and provide opportunities for university students with disability to “step into” the workplace to gain exposure to their potential career field and get involved in projects and work alongside experienced professionals.

The Benefits

Students benefit by gaining valuable experience in their potential field of work, opportunities to develop networking skills, contacts and social skills associated within the professional environment, as well a chance to showcase their skills and knowledge in the workplace. The internship experience will equip students with newly obtained skills, knowledge and experience that will serve as a valuable attribute on any future graduate’s resume.

All students may benefit from participating in the Stepping into… program, by gaining skills in job applications and interviewing, with support and resources offered by AND, such as briefing sessions hosted by the Stepping into Program Manager, interview tips and guides, professional communication coaching as well as continual support throughout the program.

INTERN SHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR WINTER 2014 OPEN 24TH MARCH

We made it – it’s Friday!

Hope you all got out onto the campus lawns to enjoy some sunshine this week!

• Happy World Down’s Syndrome Day!
• How has the internet changed your life?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of Deaf  TV? The BBC provides.
• Ever considered turning disability into an academic interest? Check out the US universities where you can  disability studies.
• Speaking of academic disability… check out this new peer-reviewed journal, Disability and the Global South.
• Thinking about going to the Melbourne Comedy Festival? Check out which shows can be Auslan interpreted.

Happy weekend-ing!

(Photo from Cameron Charles Lewis)

Are you a young person (12-25)? Want to discuss issues that matter? Be part of Raise The Platform – a disability advocacy radio program on SYN FM.

Calling for six new young people with and without disabilities to join the Raise the Platform broadcastin­g team.

What you will gain:

• radio broadcasting and interviewing skills and training
• confidence and a great opportunity to make exciting and challenging media
• a platform to discuss young people’s issues the group are passionate about
• a chance to work with young people who are making a difference
• contacts across different advocacy sectors
• a chance to have fun!

SYN Is a media organisation run by young people, and provides training and broadcasting opportunities for young people.

Monash DLU student, Shaz Sturk has been involved with Raise The Platform since last year, and can be regularly heard on SYN FM discussing a range of issues effecting young people with disabilities.

So what do you need to know to get started on your radio career?

An information session will be held:

Where: House of SYN, RMIT University, Melbourne City

When: Training dates are Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th April.

Time and energy: You will need to attend 2 days of radio broadcasting training and will be on air on Saturdays fortnightly to monthly.

Access and Support: Training and broadcasting rooms are wheelchair accessible. Contact Bec if you need any support to be involved. AUSLAN interpreting and attendant support provided on request.

Skills needed? You will learn what you need from the training. Bring your passion about issues for young people and a desire to share these on air.

Contact and RSVP if you would like more information, or to apply to be involved, contact Madeleine on 9267 3712 or email ydasprojects@yacvic.or­.au by Friday 28th March at 5pm.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE 5PM 28TH MARCH