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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-21 Daily Xml
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LIVING BOOKS

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (14:56): Can the Minister for Volunteers advise the house about the Living Books event that is to be held during next year's Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Volunteers, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister Assisting in Early Childhood Development) (14:56): I thank the member for Norwood for her question. In fact, I had a question today during the examination of the Auditor-General's Report about initiatives that the Office for Volunteers is undertaking to promote and encourage volunteering, and this is another of those great initiatives.

This is an exciting initiative that will be showcased during the 2008 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts. The Office for Volunteers and the State Library of South Australia have joined together for the Living Books event, which celebrates volunteering by providing a 'living library' service. Imagine a library where the books are human beings where you can borrow a footballer, a politician or a radio presenter; where you can potentially find out about mountain climbing or playing sport at an elite level or living and serving in a war zone—not by reading about it, but by talking to someone who has actually lived it.

'Books' or people who have an interesting life story will volunteer their time during the festival to be utilised as 'living books'. They will be able to be borrowed by members of the public in a similar way to library books but, alas, I do not think they will be able to take them home. Themes will include sport, politics, history, religion and science and technology.

There will be some well-known personalities, including the wonderful Peter Goers and Carole Whitelock from the ABC. We can find out about how Peter's famous Volvo really caught on fire and how he chooses who's going to be hot and who's not in his weekly column. The Australian women's basketball coach, Jan Stirling, from the Opals will be there, and Che Cockatoo-Collins, our famous AFL footballer and a great champion, is always willing to give his time freely for a good cause.

Hieu Van Le has also volunteered his time to be a 'book', and what a story he has to tell. No one could help but be moved by his personal account of his life's journey. From a childhood he describes as being of 'war, destruction, dispossession and chaos' to his treacherous boat journey across the Timor Sea (a month on the open seas) to find a new life here in South Australia. This was not the end of his journey. He worked hard to create a new life for his family, and I was so pleased when he was announced our new Lieutenant Governor.

This is an amazing opportunity to discover the extraordinary capacities and experiences of the people who work and live amongst us, and the courage and humanity of some of these remarkable South Australians.

South Australia has a fantastic record in volunteering, as everyone knows, and it is great to see so many busy people willing to donate their time and share their unique stories with others. Our state has the highest volunteer participation rate in the nation, and this is something we should all be very proud of. Living Books will be available from the Mortlock Chamber of the State Library during next year's festival.

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