The Croc Festival
Encyclopedia
The Croc Festival is an Australia
n event held annually in a number of locations in remote and rural areas and is produced by Indigenous Festivals of Australia. It engages Indigenous Australians
and non-Indigenous Australians with the aim of building partnerships and celebrating youth and traditional culture. Over three fun days, primary and high school students participate in activities related to arts, education, health, careers, sports, health and reconciliation. In the evenings students stage non-competitive school dance performances under the stars.
Minister for Health, Mike Horan
, asked the producers of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
to find a way to get more indigenous students
to attend school.
The inaugural Croc Festival in Weipa (far-north Queensland) in July 1998 attracted 350 students from 17 schools in Cape York
and Torres Strait
. It was opened by the then Governor-General
, Sir William Deane, who observed that the event was "reconciliation in action". In 2007 Croc Festival is expected to attract almost 20,000 students from 450 schools with a national audience of about 60,000 people.
Croc Festival is 100% drug, alcohol and tobacco free. According to research and reports by teachers, outcomes for students include improved self-esteem
and teamwork, improved tolerance
of other students, awareness of personal health issues such as nutrition
and mental health
, and knowledge of the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Further outcomes include increased rates of school attendance, improved literacy
, numeracy and oratorical
skills, and better goal setting for the future.
Croc Festival in 2007 will be held on Thursday Island in Queensland, Derby
and Mullewa in Western Australia, Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Port Augusta
in South Australia, Kempsey
and Dubbo in New South Wales, and Shepparton in Victoria. Students travel by road, air and sea to reach the venues, often camping in tents at Croc Village during the three-day festival.
The not-for-profit Croc Festival is supported by community businesses, local, state and federal government funding, corporate and philanthropic sponsorship, and in-kind support. Croc Festival and the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
are part of the Global Rock Challenge family which engages youth in seven countries around the world.
The Croc Festival was cancelled in 2008 due to a Federal funding cut.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n event held annually in a number of locations in remote and rural areas and is produced by Indigenous Festivals of Australia. It engages Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and non-Indigenous Australians with the aim of building partnerships and celebrating youth and traditional culture. Over three fun days, primary and high school students participate in activities related to arts, education, health, careers, sports, health and reconciliation. In the evenings students stage non-competitive school dance performances under the stars.
History
Croc Festival was created in 1998 after the former QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Minister for Health, Mike Horan
Mike Horan
Michael James "Mike" Horan is an Australian politician representing the seat of Toowoomba South in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 18 May 1991. He was the Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries and now serves as Opposition Whip...
, asked the producers of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge is a series of dance and drama events staged worldwide by school pupils as part of the Global Rock Challenge. These events are initiated by the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge Foundation, and aim to promote healthy lifestyle choices, particularly abstinence from drugs,...
to find a way to get more indigenous students
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
to attend school.
The inaugural Croc Festival in Weipa (far-north Queensland) in July 1998 attracted 350 students from 17 schools in Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
and Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
. It was opened by the then Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
, Sir William Deane, who observed that the event was "reconciliation in action". In 2007 Croc Festival is expected to attract almost 20,000 students from 450 schools with a national audience of about 60,000 people.
Croc Festival is 100% drug, alcohol and tobacco free. According to research and reports by teachers, outcomes for students include improved self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
and teamwork, improved tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
of other students, awareness of personal health issues such as nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
and mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
, and knowledge of the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Further outcomes include increased rates of school attendance, improved literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, numeracy and oratorical
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
skills, and better goal setting for the future.
Croc Festival in 2007 will be held on Thursday Island in Queensland, Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and Mullewa in Western Australia, Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Port Augusta
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
in South Australia, Kempsey
Kempsey, New South Wales
Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line cross the Macleay River...
and Dubbo in New South Wales, and Shepparton in Victoria. Students travel by road, air and sea to reach the venues, often camping in tents at Croc Village during the three-day festival.
The not-for-profit Croc Festival is supported by community businesses, local, state and federal government funding, corporate and philanthropic sponsorship, and in-kind support. Croc Festival and the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
Rock Eisteddfod Challenge
The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge is a series of dance and drama events staged worldwide by school pupils as part of the Global Rock Challenge. These events are initiated by the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge Foundation, and aim to promote healthy lifestyle choices, particularly abstinence from drugs,...
are part of the Global Rock Challenge family which engages youth in seven countries around the world.
The Croc Festival was cancelled in 2008 due to a Federal funding cut.