One of the most exciting years in CEFA’s history is coming to a close and I thank you for supporting us.

Since CEFA was conceived in 1995, we have aspired to build the educational Australian Constitution Centre. Our hard work has finally seen us achieve our goal with the opening of the Exhibition at the High Court in Canberra in April this year. The stage 1 project was a collaboration between CEFA and the High Court and was funded by a grant from the Australian Government.

There has been a great deal of positive feedback from academics, teachers and students and the general public. It’s hard to believe that there wasn’t a national institution that people could visit to learn about our Constitution until now. The Australian Constitution Centre also has a dedicated teaching and learning website that has had enthusiastic support from teachers around Australia. Our constitutional civics and citizenship education program has meant that for the first time, teachers have been given integrated and comprehensive units of work with lesson plans. More resources that teach about our constitutional arrangements are being added each month. We will now work to ensure that our education program and resources are rolled out into every classroom in Australia.

We encourage you to visit the High Court Exhibition and the website at www.australianconstitutioncentre.org.au.

Next year we hope to hold a conference where classroom teachers will meet to develop further lesson plans, resources and expanded curriculum promoting constitutional education across the country. This will be achieved through a ‘train the trainer’ model.

In the New Year we plan to begin upgrading the static displays at the Australian Constitution Centre Exhibition into interactive multimedia exhibits. Our Centre will become the Questacon of constitutional education!

The CEFA website has recently been updated and you can find our 2018-2020 strategic plan online. We have also recently welcomed three new Board members, Dr Don Markwell who has extensive experience in education and government, constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey and former NSW Minister for Education Rodney Cavalier.

CEFA’s other educational programs continue, including the Governor-General’s Prize, which closes on 31 December. Our questions this year focus on the constitutional workings of the Australian Parliament and whether they can be improved and they have elicited a fantastic response. High Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle will chair the prize judging panel.

I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Kerry Jones
CEO Constitution Education Fund