Like every year, the Australian section of the Association Nationale des Membres de l’Ordre National du Mérite (ANMONM) organizes the Prix du Civisme, rewarding civic projects carried out by primary and secondary school students. For the past two years, the selection has even been extended to all schools where French is taught.
If you are a student or teacher in grades 5/6 and 9/10, this message may be for you! For the past five years, ANMONM has been running a competition to reward and encourage individuals or groups of individuals for their civic, community, and public interest contributions to Australia. In the past, the award was only open to bilingual schools, but this year, any school offering French language courses is eligible.
To have the chance of being selected, you must be a student in classes 5/6 or 9/10 and have performed one or more individual or collective acts in the service of others. These can be actions of personal courage, projects or acts for the benefit of a wider community, including in Australia and overseas, or aimed at protecting the environment and wildlife or reducing pollution, waste and emissions, but also multi-generational projects, egalitarianism or solidarity, reflecting the values of “liberty, equality and fraternity”.
Since its launch in Australia five years ago, the Civic Award has gone from strength to strength, with winners from Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide. Last year, the top prize for years 5/6 went to Leyla Mackenzie, a Year 5 student at Aranda Primary School in Canberra, who regularly volunteers at a soup kitchen run by Helping ACT to help the homeless and less fortunate. In the same category, an entire Taren Point Public School class was commended for their exemplary intergenerational activities, including regular visits to a nearby retirement home. The Consul General attended the awards ceremony, Mr Martin Juillard, as well as ANMONM members, teachers, students and parents.
The Ordre National du Mérite was founded by General De Gaulle on December 3, 1963, and is intended to reward individuals who have contributed to society, in both the civilian and military spheres, by rendering exceptional services to others, to civil society and the military, on a selfless and voluntary basis.
Applications for the 2025 Prix du Civisme are now open. Teachers and school staff are encouraged to spread the word to their students, who should submit their nominations by September 26 using the nomination form, which can be obtained from the following e-mail address: [email protected].
Interstate winners (or, in the case of a class, its representative) will receive a return economy airfare to Sydney for the awards ceremony to be held in November, together with one night’s accommodation for an accompanying parent or adult.
For further information, please contact Lyn Tuit at [email protected] or 0405160275.
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