Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
2024 ACT Australian of the Year Joanne Farrell
The four winners of the 2024 ACT Australian of the Year Awards are as diverse as they are inspiring.
There’s Joanne Farrell, a champion for females working in construction; Ebenezer Banful OAM, a volunteer and multiculturalism advocate; Caitlin Figueiredo, a young political changemaker; and Selina Walker, an emerging Ngunnawal elder and leader.
The ACT winners will join the other state and territory recipients as finalists for the national awards announcement on 25 January 2024.
Take a look at the winners and find out more about their work.
2024 ACT Australian of the Year – Joanne Farrell
Joanne (Jo) Farrell is a champion for females in the construction industry.
In 2020, she founded Build Like a Girl, a not-for-profit program that supports girls and women to work in trades.
Build Like a Girl matches females with pre-apprenticeship and entry-level training, then mentors them to secure work in the construction industry.
As the general manager of Kane Constructions ACT, Jo has pushed for a better gender balance.
Jo works closely with government, peak industry bodies, unions, training organisations and building contractors to help them recruit, train and employ women in trade roles.
She also led construction of Strathnairn Charity House, a project designed and mostly built by women, which was auctioned in March 2023. Proceeds from the sale were distributed to local charities.
2024 ACT Senior Australian of the Year – Ebenezer Banful OAM
Ebenezer Banful OAM arrived in Australia over 30 years ago.
He has since dedicated himself to helping others understand Ghanaian and African values, promoting multiculturalism and helping newly arrived communities integrate into Canberra.
He helped found the Companion House community organisation that supports survivors of persecution, torture and other war-related trauma.
Ebenezer has served on numerous committees advocating for multiculturalism. He has volunteered at nearly every National Multicultural Festival and set up Radio Ghana Hour, a community station focused on Ghanaian life and culture, for which he is program coordinator and presenter.
Respected in his community, Ebenezer’s efforts have helped create harmony and understanding.
2024 ACT Young Australian of the Year – Caitlin Figueiredo
Changemaker Caitlin Figueiredo is determined to give young people a say in politics.
In 2015, she worked to bring young people’s voices into parliament through a national youth advisory council.
This led to her election to the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) board.
She revitalised and transformed AYAC, which represents 4.5 million young Australians, creating a more diverse board that better represented young people.
Empowering the next generation of female politicians, she co-founded a political leadership group called Girls Take Over Parliament. It connects with young women from all political parties and enables them to receive support and training from a bipartisan lens.
Caitlin has also addressed the United Nations about the Sustainable Development Goals; this previous work establishing youth structures on gender equality is ongoing.
Image courtesy of The Canberra Times
2024 ACT Local Hero – Selina Walker
Ngunnawal woman Selina Walker is a respected emerging elder and leader whose integrity has supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and reconciliation across the ACT.
Selina continues her grandmother Aunty Agnes Shea’s legacy of influencing and driving change with her unwavering efforts.
Since 2018, Selina has promoted reconciliation as co-chair of the ACT Reconciliation Council.
As a founding member of Yerrabi Yurwang Child and Family Aboriginal Corporation, she helps improve outcomes for Aboriginal families and children, especially those in out-of-home care.
Selina advocates for Indigenous people within the justice system as a member of the ACT Victims of Crime and Justice Committee and has held roles to improve all children’s educational outcomes in the Catholic school system.
A kinship carer, Selina was awarded Barnardos’ 2017 ACT Mother of the Year.
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