The Brave Discussion

The Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation was founded in 1999 by Mary-Ruth Mendel and Kim Kelly, who are passionate about helping people in Australia’s most marginalised communities gain literacy skills. Mary-Ruth Mendel ( pictured far right) is a leading Speech Pathologist specialising in assisting people of all ages with literacy and learning difficulties through her private [...]

Anyone with a teenager in the house will be interested in today’s story – we discuss the growing trend for volunteer Gap Years. Gap Years are becoming a common phenomenon around the world as teenagers consider alternative options pre-university or college and seek opportunities to expand their horizons before committing to particular universities or majors. Gap Year’s [...]

Yesterday I caught up with the President of Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW), Christine Carlton and we spent a lovely few hours working on the forthcoming International Storytelling Conference to be held in Sydney in June this year. One of the issues we covered was 2012 and the year of Reading. In discussion we came across [...]

Stories about inspiring teachers have tantalized us since the era of Mr. Chips. Today we share a true story about a teacher and her 84 year old student who wanted the right to an education. It is a triumphant testimony to the transforming force of education. In 2004, in a small, remote mountain top primary school in the Kenyan [...]

I first came across Cate  Bolt watching her wonderful twitter voice. She connected with her audience in such an authentic manner and I wondered who was this woman behind the ‘twitterverse’ voice.  She seemed to have so many varied interests and in a wide variety of causes. Cate calls herself an ordinary mum, living through all the [...]

  The Social Good Summit starts today in New York and you can watch some awesome speakers via livestream including Geena Davis, Academy Award winner and Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and it’s programming arm See Jane, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters – and [...]

  Everyone can find just $1 – a great initiative It’s been a great year for social good and digital philanthropy and few would disagree social media has changed the way we connect, give and amplify our messages. Years ago I conceived and delivered the very first Bandaged Bear Day for the Children’s Hospital as [...]

  Ann Cotton I continue to be in awe of the most amazing women we write about on The Brave Discussion and how they are changing lives through innovative progammes and opportunities. Clearly there is a groundswell movement occurring with many realising a life without service is indeed a life without purpose. Today we meet [...]

The Brave Discussion’s multi-media, interactive curriculum combines storytelling, critical media analysis, media skills and narrative strategy with organising and movement building. Read more about our methodology here (PDF FILE) The common thread is that grassroots projects with local ownership, often propelled by exceptionally bright and driven social entrepreneurs who had encountered the ‘treetops’ efforts and [...]

Sometimes kids need a hand to with emotions to big and too complicated for a child to have to deal with and that’s where an innovative programme known as KidsXpress helps out. Let’s meet Margot Ward founder of KidsXpress a programme that offers a positive early intervention strategy rather than allowing the child to potentially [...]