Radford College students Isla Baird, Annie Creer, Lydia Murray, Hugo Webster and Niamh Martin proudly wear their festival t-shirts in anticipation of the popular Dirrum Dirrum Festival scheduled this Saturday, 18 August. Photos: Supplied.
Students from Radford College are hosting this year’s Dirrum Dirrum Festival, which will see a diverse range of compelling speakers descend on Canberra shores on 18 August to explore two exciting elements—’truth-telling and power’ and ‘shared sustainable prosperity’.
The popular Dirrum Dirrum Festival—themed for ‘the common good’ — is in its sixth year running and was created by a group of 17 and 18-year-old students who aimed to foster a more informed and humbled Canberra community.
Isla Baird, student and the festival’s communications guru, together with the leader of the speaker team and fellow student Annie Creer, reflected the event will provoke, challenge and be the catalyst for inspiring conversations that will broaden our thinking.
“At the moment our whole world revolves around our ATAR scores, so being able to hear from some of Australia’s community leaders who are doing amazing things to better our country is awesome,” Annie Creer said.
“Everything we read about is online or on social media. The festival provides students and the Canberra community the chance to learn first-hand from a group of educated leaders, to be enlightened by their progressive thinking and be positively influenced.”
Radford College students Hugo Webster, Oli Golding, Isla Baird, Lydia Murray, Annie Creer and Niamh Martin bring this year’s Dirrum Dirrum Festival to the Canberra community.
Nine speakers across two sessions will share their stories and personal experiences focusing on issues of justice and environmental well-being. The afternoon session will run from 2-4 pm and will feature Gillian Triggs, former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission; Matthew Stocks, renewable energy expert; Dr Emma Adams, a leading psychiatrist; and show stopper Peter Greste, investigative journalist and war correspondent.
The evening session, from 5-7 pm, promises to deliver an encore of engaging speakers including Ellen Jacobsen, an inspiring young leader who developed a streetwear label to combat homelessness; Kirsty Windeyer, a lawyer and advocate for vulnerable children; Steph Gabriel, an entrepreneur who’s developed a sustainable swimwear line; and Bridget Chivers-Keneally, a Radford College graduate who’s taken her nursing credentials overseas to aid refugee and migration health.
“We are extremely lucky to have attracted such an inspiring line up of leaders. It says a lot about them wanting to help us little guys out and shows their values resonate with the Dirrum Dirrum Festival being for ‘the common good’,” Annie Creer said.
In between the speaker sessions, the community will be treated to a gourmet mini-market where guests can purchase local produce from Base Soaps, tasty beef jerky from The Biltong Company, mouth-watering brownie sandwiches from The Hungry Brown Cow, hot food and Timor coffee for coffee lovers. There will also be fashion stalls, live music and dancing by local artists. The stalls will be open for business throughout the festival.
While tickets are sold out, an adjoining space will be set up with a live stream from the lecture theatre so guests can still experience the energy and vibe of the festival including the food stalls and entertainment. Additional information can be found on the Dirrum Dirrum website.
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