The Sharks have selected four students to attend the upcoming Indigenous Youth Summit as part of the Festival of Indigenous Rugby League.
Two students in Alieesha Cohen and Kirralee Smith from the Sharks Tomorrow’s Stars program and Lachlan Signal and Nathan Carroll from the NRL’s School 2 Work will represent the Sharks at the summit to be held in Sydney from February 7 to 11.
In all 68 Indigenous school boys and girls are selected to attend the summit which incorporates a camp designed to give the students resources to become leaders in the indigenous community.
The Sharks Tomorrow’s Stars program supports female indigenous students such as Alieesha and Kirralee in becoming independent and resourceful young adults, presenting them with the knowledge and skills to make informed choices about their future.
Lachlan and Nathan are presently involved in the NRL’s School 2 Work, which is an education and employment program that provides one-on-one support and encourages young indigenous students to stay in school and progress into either work or study once they graduate.
Tomorrow’s Stars and School 2 Work are Indigenous programs conducted as part of the Club’s commitment to the Reconciliation Action Plan currently in place. The Sharks and the Australian Federal Government provide funding and assistance to the Tomorrow’s Stars program as well as supporting the NRL’s School 2 Work initiative.
The Youth Summit is run by Mirri Mirri, an organisation passionate about up-skilling Indigenous Youth to succeed during and post schooling, particularly in the workplace or with further education.
The National Rugby League shares this vision and each February our two organisations come together to deliver the NRL All Stars Indigenous Youth Summit.
The weeklong leadership summit is attended by Indigenous youth from across Australia, with the NRL giving Mirri Mirri a range of responsibilities including event and program management, workshop facilitation, communication with participants and NRL clubs such as the Sharks and the development of promotional materials.
Importantly, this partnership enables Mirri Mirri to provide employment opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and utilise the services of other Supply Nation Certified organisations.
