WILL YOU BE THE NEXT PREMIER’S ANZAC AMBASSADOR?

Minister for Veterans Affairs David Elliott, in partnership with ClubsNSW, today launched the Premier’s Anzac Ambassadors Program, which will give young people the opportunity to visit historic Anzac sites during the remainder of the Centenary of WWI.

This year’s program is open to Year 10 and 11 students from across NSW and six young people will retrace the steps of Australian soldiers across Athens, Lemnos, Crete, Paris, Ieper and the Somme in April 2016.

Students will be asked to write a 1000 word essay on “Why the Centenary of Anzac is important for modern Australia?” The authors of the six best essays will be chosen to go on the journey of a lifetime.

Mr Elliott said the Premier’s Anzac Ambassadors Program provides a pathway for those students who want to go beyond the classroom in learning about the sacrifices our forefathers made on the battlefields of WWI.

“Visiting these sacred Australian historical sites and meeting key dignitaries along the way only reinforces the importance of this scholarship and the experiences and knowledge gained will see the Anzac legend told from a different perspective,” he said.

ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball said the experience would enrich the lives of students participating, as well as their local communities, and thanked the NSW Government for its support for the program.

“The Premier’s Anzac Ambassadors Program reaches out to young people in the community who want to do more to help keep the Anzac tradition and values alive today and in the future,” he said.

“These young people will gain a unique appreciation for how hard it would’ve been for Anzacs to fight along the Western Front.”

The program is open to students in Year 10 and 11 across NSW and scholarship winners will be required to keep a diary and report back about what they experienced over the 10-day tour.

The Hon Natasha Maclaren-Jones, Major General Warren Glenny and former Premier Nathan Rees will judge this year’s essay entries.