LEPH2018 will be the second time students from the Maryborough Education Centre, Victoria, Australia, participate in the international law enforcement and public health conference series.

 

Two Year 11 students, Harmony Martin-Binks and Shelby Steel, were successful in a competitive application process to be awarded the scholarship to attend the LEPH2018 conference in Toronto, Canada.

 

Harmony and Shelby will be accompanied by Assistant Principal Katherine King and colleague Jess Kile. They will present their school’s program about Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships and promoting gender equality in a 45 minute session as part of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’.

 

The presentation will also highlight the community’s important #SayNO2familyviolence campaign ran by the local Rotary club.

 

The Award was recently featured in the Maryborough Advertiser (link to article) 

 

(Picture from Maryborough Advertiser) Federal Member of Parliament, Andrew Broad (Mallee), met with Harmony and Shelby (pictured with Assistant Principal Katherine King and Principal David Sutton) to discuss their presentation in the lead up to their trip to Canada.

 

The award was initiated by former Maryborough student, Melissa Jardine, who is a Director of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association and conference organiser.

 

Melissa is currently a consultant to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (and UN Women) working towards gender equality in law enforcement institutions in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. The project aims to increase the capability of police and border patrols to better respond to trafficking and transnational crimes in Southeast Asia.

 

In 2016, two students and two teachers (pictured below) from the country Victorian school joined international conference delegates from over 40 countries to learn about law enforcement and public health issues. The program aims to highlight gender equality and promote women in rural leadership.

Pictured at LEPH2016 in Amsterdam: Lynette Lawrence, Sharine Lanfranchi, Melissa Jardine, Annabelle Reiger, Samantha Rothman

 

The Awards aim to provide a cultural and educational experience to rural Victorian students and to promote a range of career pathways for students to consider as they near the end of their secondary schooling.

The initiative is supported by Victoria Police. 

Commander Stuart Bateson from the Safer Communities and Crime Prevention division previously addressed a community forum in Maryborough with respect to police responses to family violence and its prevention.

Commander Bateson will also be delivering a presentation at LEPH2018 in Toronto.

 

 

Learn more about how you can get involved, sponsor or support the program by contacting: melissa.jardine@gmail.com