Snippets

CINC Wear it Purple Day

Please join us in celebrating all Rainbow Youth on Wear it Purple Day. Come along our special morning tea on Friday 26th August at 10:30am, 15 Vaux Street.

Cowra Local Presents At Toshiba International Symposium

Cowra Local and Cowra Breakout Association member Lawrance Ryan represented Cowra at the Toshiba International Foundation International Symposium at Flinders University in Adelaide on Friday July 22. The symposium was about the art and creativity of Japanese people incarcerated in World War II in Australasia and the Pacific, with Mr Ryan invited to presenting on how Cowra tells stories of and celebrates its relationship with Japan since the Cowra Breakout. “From the tragedy of the Cowra Prisoner of War Breakout has come feelings of reconciliation, understanding and respect that have led to the town being described by Japanese Ambassadors as ‘the spiritual home of Japanese people in Australia’ and ‘the cornerstone of the postwar Australia-Japan relationship,”Mr Ryan said in his presentation.

Fee-Free Training To Supercharge NSW’s Early Learning Workforce

The early childhood workforce is set to boom with the NSW Government committing 25,000 fee-free training places to bolster the pipeline of skilled and job-ready workers for the early learning and care sector.

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said fee-free courses will help people upskill and boost budgets by removing barriers to accessing quality vocational education and training.

A wide range of full and part qualifications are available, including Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.

These courses provide pathways to employment including early childhood educator and educator in before and after school care programs.

Minister for Skills and Training Alister Henskens said the last year more than 11,000 people undertook early childhood education training, supporting the sustainable pipeline of educators and teachers for tomorrow.

More information about courses and eligibility is available online.

Have Your Say On The Mental Health Line

People with lived experience of mental illness and their carers are helping shape the future of the Mental Health Line by sharing their experience with the NSW Government.

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said the 1800 011 511 NSW Mental Health Line was a free phone service which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering specialist advice, support and referral to specialist NSW Health mental health services.

The importance of health and specifically mental health in our society is evident, with the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing showing two in five Australians experience a mental health issue in their lifetime.

The Mental Health Line is an important service which helps people to access appropriate mental health services but there are always areas to improve.

In 2020-21 around 864,000 Australians accessed at least one digital service for their mental health, but it is understood this represents only one in ten of those who experienced mental health distress. People need to be able to easily access services which can help them when they are at their most vulnerable. This is something we can and need to address. The NSW Government has allocated $2.2 billion across four years to in-vest into digital transformation projects through the DRF. The fund is adminis-tered by the Department of Customer Service and targets smart, simple tech-nology solutions which create efficien-cies for customers across the State.

To Have Your Say on the future of the Mental Health Line, please visit: www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/nsw-mhl-consultation

Fukuoka Visit To Cowra

A delegation of around 20 people visited Cowra last Sunday afternoon from Fukuoka, Japan, including Mr and Mrs Nagakura, the namesakes of Nagakura Park in Cowra, as well as representatives from various businesses in Japan including Kyushu Electric Power Company, Mitsui & Co, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. They attended a luncheon at the Cowra Japanese Garden and a wreath laying ceremony at the War Cemetery.

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