13 August 08

Dr Colin Adrian - Head of the Canberra Institute of Technology

spoke about the role and work of the CIT, as the largest education and training institution in the ACT.  In 2007 around 31000 students were enrolled, including over 1000 foreign students, predominantly pursuing study of English and/or vocational training (many in the hospitality/catering sector).  Around 2500 apprentices are engaged in CIT training programs.

As a statutory authority, CIT is largely funded by the ACT Government, but is increasingly engaging with industry and gains an increasing proportion of its funds from commercial service delivery.  CIT runs several courses to meet the needs of particular sectors, such as clubs, and competes as a supplier of training programs through its commercial arm, CIT solutions.  CIT operates from five campuses and is planning changes including the closure of the Weston campus and the development of an additional Flexible Learning Centre in Gungahlin.

Notable trends in the demand for training in the ACT include a high demand for higher-level qualifications (higher than in any other similar institution in Australia), an increase in numbers of students undertaking part-time study, and growth of partnerships with schools and universities. 

6 August 08

Rotary Membership Beyond 2000 - Ms Jill Bailey and PP Kim Barrett

Jill Bailey, accompanied by Kim Barrett, outlined the District's 'Beyond 2000' program for recruiting and maintaining membership and the Club's commitment to the aims of the program.  Following the commitment made at the club's 2008 planning meeting, a membership team consisting of Jill, Kim, Mike Bury, Carol Hoger and Duncan Steel has been formed to work with the existing members to maintain and grow the club's membership.   Jill outlined the steps involved.   Teams of two members have been designated to identify prospective members, and forward their details to the Membership Team Coordinators, who will provide a 'Rotary Basics' presentation pack, and issue an invitation to a breakfast meeting.   The membership teams are to focus their efforts particularly on the occupations listed under A-C in the Classification Guidelines for Clubs, but Jill encouraged the teams to cast the net as wide as possible in seeking to identify prospective new members. Written guidelines were distributed to all membership team members.

30 July 08

Mr Keith Gray - Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin

Keith Gray has been a key player in several projects to deliver support to needy rural families in West Timor over the period 2006 to 2008. The Canberra Sunrise club has contributed funds to these projects. Keith was our guest speaker today to report on progress in the project to which we contributed $2000 and to explain how the RI Matching Grant system maximises the value gained from our funds.

Keith's presentation was supported by photographs of the personalities involved, both in Australia and West Timor, as well as photos of the recipient rural families and the equipment supplied.  Keith explained that our contribution had assisted in providing wells and water tanks, water pumps, livestock, fishing equipment, books and teacher training for needy villages in West Timor. A total of $999,793 had been spent on these items over three years with 33% coming from the Rotary Foundation.  In effect the contributions from our club and others had been increased by over $33,000 through the Matching Grant process.

23 July 08

16 July 08

9 July 08

Ms Jacqui Furler - President of The Abbeyfield Society disAbility ACT Inc spoke about her voluntary work with the society.

This is a link to the presentation.  Note that this is a large 3.22 Mb file and may take some time to download depending on your internet connection .