The Ryebuck team is about to embark upon the third series of Youth Challenges in the DEFENCE 2020 program.

The Youth Challenge Program brings together students from different schools, Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, politicians and community representatives to explore many of the issues surrounding defence and Australia's responsibility as a global citizen in the present and the future.
Years 9-11 students will benefit most from the Youth Challenge Program, as it is particularly relevant to SOSE/HSIE, Citizenship Education, History and English curriculum areas.

Don't miss out on this this exciting, interactive and innovative program.
For more details visit www.defence2020.info. There you can also view the education kit that was sent to all secondary schools in 2009 as well as a series of interactive decision-makers, winning entries in the Student Participation Task and much more.

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Some 250 students, teachers and guests attended the NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING! Youth Challenges held at Warner Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast on Thursday and Friday, 11-12 February 2010. Some 20 schools in the region were represented at this exciting event.

The students worked through a program that challenged and entertained them - asking them to come to an understanding about the implications of film piracy for the sort of society they want to create. While most students (and teachers!) had at some time been 'pirates' themselves, they realised that there were considerable implications to their actions, and all agreed that it was a fair and proper civics and citizenship strategy to 'just say NO.'

Surprise guest industry presenters were Andrew Wight, co-producer of the huge 3D hit Avatar and Emily Robins and Miles Szanto - stars of the TV series Elephant Princess. They provided unique perspectives on the impact of film piracy upon their industry and their own lives.

Those students attending on the Thursday had a special treat - a tour on the set of Elephant Princess.

Judging from the evaluations, all who attended had a terrific time rating the program 90% Excellent/Very Good.

Visit the Copyright or Copywrong website for more information.

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More than 70 students from St Joseph's College, Katherine High School and Wugularr School attended the Indigenous Youth Challenge held in Katherine, NT on 24 November.

The theme of the day was - What does the Australian Defence Force have to do with you?

To investigate this question the students interacted with a decision-making program, met some of the ADF's current 'modern warriors', participated in bullring activities which included guard dog and equipment demonstrations, watched a video showcasing the contribution of Indigenous Australians to today's Defence Force and then broke into workshop groups to prepare a role-play about the different roles that the ADF plays both in Australia and overseas.

The students threw themselves into the role-plays and showed us how the ADF provides peacekeepers around the globe, cares for country, helps Indigenous communities, defends the nation and responds to humanitarian emergencies.

Almost 70 percent of students rated the program as excellent and some 25% rated it very good! Typical comments on the day were the following:

I enjoyed myself very much.

It was all good.
It was fun and excellent.
Today was the best.
The day was fantastic.
Loved it. Thanks for a lovely day.
I loved learning about other jobs in the Defence Force.
I feel like coming again next year.

The team at Ryebuck would like to thank RAAF Base Tindal for hosting the Challenge and all of the ADF personnel who so graciously gave of their time to meet and work with the students and teachers from the local area.

See pictures ...

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