We are constantly receiving many kind words from teachers, students, Elders, community and many other Mungo Youth Project enthusiasts! – here are just a few things that people are saying about the Project:
…students come together in a special place to celebrate and to learn, to grow together and to enjoy themselves. The students know that the Willandra Lakes World Heritage area (which includes Lake Mungo) is an area which tells a major story of humanity and of Australia – They were advised by educators and Elders that “…the land whispers to us about the past and writes a story of change – of people, of climate and of plants and animals.” Archaeologists have revealed that “for over 50,000 years Indigenous Australians have been of this land and that important sign posts of that story are captured within the landscape… it is story like no other”. Traditional Owners ask that students and teachers “…listen to that story – through the wisdom of the Elders, through the mindfulness of scientists, through the pastoralists and through each other”. Students were invited to be open to the spirit of place and to build their own knowledge and power. “Choose to thrive” was the invitation and in doing so chose to make a difference by helping to make their world more caring, intelligent and sustainable for all… Robert Biggs – Mungo Youth Project Founder
By bringing children together with Elders, with scientists, land holders all on the same plot of ground, all getting dusty and dirty together, sharing that mutual experience, this project has contributed in a very special way to one of Australian society’s greatest needs, the need to reconnect. To connect with each other, old with young, Indigenous stories with rational science and particularly, all to connect with the earth. This project set an example of the essential people-people, people-land reconnection so essential to the very future of Australia. This context of children, teachers, Elders and scientists on the very birth place and graves of Mungo people 40,000 years ago, listening to and exploring those messages is without parallel elsewhere in Australia. Patron, Professor Jim Bowler, October 2011
Teacher Feedback about the 2011 project
What we noticed with the students in both the lead up to the festival and during the festival was the increase in self-esteem, respect for others and pride in their personal history and knowledge. As educators, we could never have gotten the same results from a classroom, the hands on approach and self-lead learning the girls went through was invaluable…. The feedback from the students was so positive and self affirming that to not make Mungo a regular part of Worawa, would be a mistake.
Megan Nash, Teacher, Worawa Aboriginal College