These young voices could shape our future

I am raising money for the McWhirter Foundation  and its annual conference.

As a sponsor, you'll be investing in a very significant educational opportunity for the next generation of the best and brightest thinkers and leaders.

The McWhirter Conference
The highly prestigious McWhirter conference has been held at Oxford University each year for the last forty years. More recently the conference has also been held at Cambridge University.

This is the first time the conference is being held outside the UK. It has already attracted a great deal of interest and is on track to being over-subscribed.

The University of Melbourne is hosting the event in July this year and work is under way to include Sydney next year.

The conference has an extremely highly regarded reputation for creating an environment that encourages the next generation of potential leaders. Its success lies in its commitment to the development of critical thinking and discourse designed to make a significant contribution to the broader community and the nation’s future.

The event provides a forum which encourages students to think about how they may be able to participate in shaping the nation's future. Many past students describe the experience as ‘life changing’ and have been inspired to pursue further education and career options they may not have otherwise considered.

In the UK, each annual conference brings together more than 80 sixth form students from both state and independent schools to debate a topical subject. In Australia the students will typically be in Year's 11 and 12.

The theme for this year’s event, both here and in the UK, is “Who should set the limits on free speech?”

Dame Quentin Bryce is the Patron for the Foundation in Australia.

Sponsorship
We are seeking sponsorship funding because a core principle of the Foundation is that students should be able to attend the conference at no cost, irrespective of their social, cultural or economic backgrounds.

We have a sponsor who will be matching every contribution that’s made dollar for dollar!
This is very exciting and it means that however much you contribute to support these students, it will be worth twice as much.

All sponsors will receive recognition as part of the conference welcome pack. Sponsorships of $5,000 or more qualify for Conference Partner status.

The McWhirter Foundation is an Australian charity so if you have an ABN and earn income using that ABN, you will be eligible for a tax deduction.

I sincerely hope the Foundation and its commitment to supporting high school students as an investment in shaping our future is something you believe to be worthwhile and something you'd like be a part of.

Thank you

Simon Pemberton