Inaugural NSW Human Rights Award Presentation Ceremony

His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand, together with His Excellency Consul General of Serbia to Australia, Mr Branko Radosevic, and the Honourable Ms Gabrielle Upton MP, Member for Vaucluse and Parliamentary Secretary for Tertiary Education & Skills, representing the Serbian Community, were among the numerous dignitaries and guests invited by the Honourable Victor Dominello MP, Minister for Citizenship and Communities and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs at the Inaugural New South Wales Human Rights Awards Presentation Ceremony, held on 22 August 2013 in Parliament House in Sydney.

As announced by the Honourable Premier of New South Wales Barry O'Farrell at the NSW Parliament, the founder of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Andrew Penfold, has been named the inaugural winner of the New South Wales Human Rights Award.

The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation is a non-profit organisation established in 2007 to provide education and career opportunities for young Indigenous people. Mr Penfold stated that he believes awarding scholarships to Aboriginal students can help transform lives. "Education has always been a very transformational tool," he noted. "It just strikes us that in this country the Indigenous inequality is definitely one of our most compelling national challenges."

Photos by Warren Duncan/CRC of NSW

Source: Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand