Michael Galluzo
This young country teenager has no small town outlook. As an Italian Indigenous Australian, Michael has been exposed to vibrant cultural traditions, as strong as they are diverse. This unusual background has been the impetus for Michael’s action plan. Michael’s town, Narranderra, and the surrounding Riverina region, is made up of ethnic, indigenous, and non-indigenous people, some 5,000 strong. Still at school, Michael believes that educating young people in his community about the region’s rich cultural diversity is the key to community development and reconciliation. As an active young leader in his community, Michael embraces every opportunity to broaden the minds of young people.
Michael established a mentoring program as part of the Narranderra Shire Council Youth Steering Committee and has been involved in numerous speaking engagements including appearing as a guest speaker and facilitator at the 2004 ReconciliACTION conference. Michael plans to bring the young people in his community together in forums that will explore the varied cultural, lingual and religious traditions that exist in the region. This will include experiencing the rich, cultural heritage ‘first hand’ with a visit to the first mission established for indigenous peoples in the region. Michael sees OIYP2004 as not only a forum to canvas his ideas, but it also serves as a blueprint for the future forums in his own region. “Through OIYP2004, I hope to bring together the older generation with the younger generation and bridge the widening gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Australia.
