Tickets available now – Support Bond’s indigenous students and scholarships program
Leading Australian tertiary education facility, Bond University, is set to host its immensely popular annual event – the Indigenous Gala event on Friday 16 November. Over 500 guests are expected to turn out to the event which raises money to support the university’s Indigenous students and scholarships.
Held in Bond’s Sports Hall on their Robina campus, the glitzy gala will be attended by members of the Gold Coast City community, as well as special guest panel of transformative Indigenous education advocates including Cr Wayne Butcher, Cr Fraser Nai, Narelle Urquhart and Jeremy Donovan. Guests will be entertained by award-winning Indigenous musician, Michael Tuahine, with powerful live performances of Australian classics.
With a long list of honours, including awards from NAIDOC, Rolling Stone Magazine and the Deadly Awards, Mr Tuahine is both a prominent Indigenous community member and successful musician, as well as a NIDA graduate and an actor, having starred in several movies and television series.
As a proud contributor to Bond’s Indigenous education initiatives and the annual Gala event, Robina Group has sponsored a table for the community group Yalari to attend the event.
Providing valuable pathways for school-aged Indigenous students from regional, rural and remote communities to access secondary boarding school scholarships, Yalari have a proud history of supporting students into Bond University Indigenous scholarship programs. Current Yalari high school scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to be inspired and encouraged by attending the Gala event, taking a seat at the table and joining the wider Bond and Gold Coast City community in celebrating Indigenous culture and championing Indigenous higher education.
Rekisha Satour
Inspiring the students lucky enough to attend will be Indigenous student and Yalari Alumna, Rekisha Satour, who will co-MC the Gala event.
Ms. Satour is from Darwin and her family are from Daly River; after receiving a Yalari scholarship to complete her high school education in Western Australia, she moved across the country to Gold Coast City to study a Bachelor of Psychological Science as a Bond University Indigenous scholar.
Ms. Satour is positive and passionate about the future for Indigenous Australians and attributes the support of both Yalari and Bond to fostering a belief in herself.
“There has never been a better time to be an Indigenous Australian, than right now. Compared to our predecessors, we as Young Indigenous Australians have so many opportunities to succeed. I believe, with the right support, such opportunities, paired with ambitious young people, will create generational change in this country,”
“The support offered by both Yalari and Bond has been crucial to my success as a young person, living thousands of kilometers away from my home, family, and community. Without such support, I would not be here today. These organisations have believed in me since day one and given the support and encouragement I needed to, in turn, believe in myself.” Ms. Satour said.
When reflecting on her position as a role model to young Indigenous students seated at the Yalari table at the Bond Indigenous Gala, Ms. Satour hopes to show that her opportunities can be their opportunities too.
“In all honesty, I am just honored to have the opportunity to represent my people in such a positive way. I can safely say that Yalari changed my life,”
“I just hope that Yalari students are inspired by not only myself but, all of Bond’s Indigenous Scholarship recipients in the room to believe in themselves,”
“I hope that these young men and women realise that university is attainable and that they deserve to have such opportunities, as much as any other Australian because, I know, they each have so much to offer this country” Ms. Satour said.
According to Creative Spirits, in 2016, Indigenous students only represented 1.6% of all university enrolments in Australia and underpinning this number, only 10% of Year 12 Indigenous students were in fact eligible for university, compared to 46% for non-Indigenous.
Pathway programs providing scholarships, mentoring and support such as those provided by Yalari and Bond, recognise the significant gaps in Indigenous secondary and higher education and aim to bring about change. Both the Yalari program and Bond’s Indigenous pathway share the belief that education is the key to transformative generational change for Indigenous Australians and both aim to connect students, often from remote communities, to the power of education.
Bond University Indigenous Support Officer, Narelle Urquhart, says Bond are committed to increasing the number of Indigenous students in higher education and credits the Bond Indigenous Gala for it’s overwhelming financial contribution to this goal.
“I believe that Bond University has shown a real commitment to equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait people through education. Our corporate partners echo this sentiment and we are able to action real change, not only for our current students, but for our future generations to come,” Ms. Urquhart said.
All proceeds of the Bond Indigenous Gala will go towards Indigenous student support and scholarships and with less than 40 tickets left, secure your ticket now before the event is sold out.
Tickets and Further Information
Tickets are $235 per person or $2,350 to purchase a corporate table, which includes gourmet dinner, beverages and award-winning entertainment.
Visit Bond Indigenous Gala for more information and to purchase your tickets.
Robina Group is proud to sponsor this amazing event and the initiatives that it supports, which are literally changing the lives of young Indigenous Australians.
