The 2002 Ethics and Spirituality conference in Canberra was a watershed event in Australian education. Over three days 250 educators from the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sectors gathered at Canberra Girls Grammar to hear from international and national speakers on varous topics related to the 5 Strand Approach. Delegates included representatives from many well-known schools, a significant number of Principals, School Council members, Administrators and Schools Commission representatives from all the major denominations, in every Australian state and New Zealand.
The ABC presenter Margaret Coffey, who produced a radio program (transcript and recording available here) based on the content of the conference, gave an excellent opening address that was followed by the launching of DAN (Dialogue Australasian Network) by Fr Chris Gleeson SJ (Headmaster-St Ignatius Sydney) D.A.N. is a network of schools that are interested in further developing this new approach to Values and Religious Education through the provision of professional development opportunities and practical resources for Australian and New Zealand schools. An invitation was given to delegates to consider becoming members of DAN.
Each morning there was a practical session dealing with the fifth strand, silence and stillness and where practical ideas were provided for developing this strand in the curriculum. There were eleven other papers presented over the two days by national and international speakers dealing with topics related to Ethics and Spirituality in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education. Each speaker gave an excellent account of their own scholarship as well as providing delegates with practical ideas of how to teach these areas well. The conference papers are available on this website for delegates and members of DAN. Click here if you would like a copy of a paper or papers.
Two new post-graduate qualifications for teachers in Ethics and Philosophy were also introduced at the conference.
The facilities at Canberra Girls Grammar, the food and the accomodation were all outstanding and a credit to the organising committee at CGG.
Throughout the conference there was a growing awareness that something very exciting is happening in this area in Australian schools. It was a privilege to be involved in this significant event.
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