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Asia Literacy for Every Young Australian National Summit - May 2009
The Asia Literacy For Every Young Australian national summit, held in Melbourne in May 2009, brought together 160 leading educators from around Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, in launching the summit and the NALSSP Becoming Asia Literate: Grants to Schools, stated:
… understanding Asia and its languages is a priority. The onward march of globalisation makes this challenge ever more urgent. By the time Australian students leave school they should have a sound knowledge of Asia – its geography, history, peoples, cultures, and languages.
Hon Julia Gillard MP
Business Alliance for Asia Literacy
 | At the summit, Heather Ridout, CEO, Australia Industry Group, launched the Business Alliance for Asia Literacy. |
Summit videos
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Julia Gillard, May 2009
The Hon Julia Gillard MP speaks for the Asia Literacy for Every Young Australian National Summit, 4–5 May 2009
Video: 6:30
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Kathe Kirby, Executive Director, Asia Education Foundation
‘… if Asia literacy for all Australians is our aim, we have a long journey still in front of us.’
Video: 4:29
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Professor Yong Zhao, Michigan State
‘Schools now have the job of equipping students with the kinds of 21st-century skills and understandings needed in a changed world.’
Video: 3:26
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Ameeta Wattal, Principal, Springdales School, New Delhi
‘Students at Springdales establish connections with and visit other schools and organisations around the world.’
Video: 5:20
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Professor Tony Milner AM, Basham Professor of History, ANU
‘I have been asked, as an historian, to talk about the “Australian story", and to do so in the context of the National Curriculum’.
Video: 5:00
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Alice Pung, Writer and Lawyer
‘When we were studying Australian history there wasn't the part about the first Chinese man arriving in 1810.’
Video: 6:28
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Heather Ridout, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Industry Group
interviewed by Ali Moore, Presenter, ABC TV’s Lateline Business
Video: 6:19
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Professor Barry McGaw, Chair, National Curriculum Board
‘The issues are not to do with which skills are new in the new century, but which skills are needed.’
Video: 5:20
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Panel presentation: A futures oriented curriculum: What are we waiting for?
Speakers: Justin Breheny, Professor Tim Lindsey, Chris Wardlaw, Anna Rose
Video: 11:38
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Panel presentation: What are the new imperatives?
Speakers: Tamerlaine Beasley, Tom O'Connor, Maha Sukkar, Simon Barker
Video: 10:55
The program outline provides details of summit activities. View Professor Milner's speech.
During the summit, four key documents were used to inform workshop discussion and the development of strategic directions for Asia-literacy. These were:
AEF's Position Paper on 'Asia Literacy' in History Curriculum (PDF: 210 kb)
AEF's Position Paper on 'Asia Literacy' in English Curriculum (PDF: 290 kb)
AEF's Report on the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia project (PDF: 870 kb)
ACER's Report on Studies of Asia in Year 12 (PDF: 2.2 Mb)
