The Australian Human Rights Commission has announced the nominees for the 25th Human Rights Medal.
Susan Barton AM Mrs Barton has provided love, support and a roof for hundreds of Melbourne’s most disadvantaged children. Twenty one years ago she launched the Lighthouse Foundation, a charity that provides housing and critical emotional support to young people.
Ian Thorpe His exploits in the pool have made him a household name, but what is less known is that Ian Thorpe has spent more than a decade as a passionate advocate for Indigenous people and young Australians. His Fountain for Youth charity is working with twenty remote communities across the country.
Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM Mr Karapanagiotidis founded the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, which began as a tiny shop front in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray with a few hundred dollars and a few boxes of food. Now the Centre is a thriving organisation that has helped 7000 asylum seekers.
Professor Stuart Rees Professor Rees began his contribution to human rights as a social worker in Britain and Canada and with Save the Children in India and Sri Lanka. In 1991 he founded the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University and has overseen its’ development ever since.
The Human Rights Medal is our most prestigious Award for work on human rights. Previous winners have included Therese Rein, The Rt Hon. Malcomn Fraser AC CH, The Hon. Elizabeth Evatt AC and the late Eddie Mabo.
The Medal will be awarded during a ceremony at the Hilton, Sydney on Monday December 10 in front of more than 570 guests including VIPs.
The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel will MC the event and the Keynote speech will be delivered by James Spigelman, Chairman of the ABC and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW from 1998 until 2011.