The 2024 ACT Australian of the Year award recipients were announced last night at the annual awards ceremony - held at the National Gallery of Australia. Four local community members have been crowned Canberra’s Local Hero, Young Australian, Senior Australian and Australian of the Year for 2024.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 Celebrating Canberrans for their community service.
00:05 Joanne Farrell was named ACT Australian of the Year for her work addressing gender balance in the building industry.
00:13 It's a bit of imposter syndrome but I'm incredibly grateful to be acknowledged and recognised for the stuff that I've done.
00:19 She founded Build Like a Girl, a not-for-profit program that supports women to have careers in construction.
00:25 I was told many times that I couldn't be a tradesperson and then I was, or I couldn't be a project manager and then I was,
00:31 and I wouldn't run a construction company and now I am.
00:34 So I suppose it's just making sure that they can see that and if that's what they want they can do that,
00:39 and not letting any of these stigmas or stereotypes stop them.
00:42 Ngunnawal woman Selina Walker was named ACT Local Hero for her work towards reconciliation for First Nations Australians.
00:49 I'm going to use this platform to be able to progress true reconciliation here in Australia
00:55 and ensure that our voice, the voice of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is absolutely heard.
01:03 After working to give young people a voice in politics for nearly a decade,
01:07 Caitlin Figueredo was named ACT Young Australian of the Year.
01:11 Honestly when they called out my name I was speechless and I was so nervous I wasn't breathing,
01:17 like Heidi who gave me the award, she was like 'Breathe!'
01:20 After more than three decades in Australia, 66-year-old Ebenezer Benful took out the ACT Senior Australian of the Year Award
01:28 for his years of dedication in promoting multiculturalism and giving a voice to Ghanaian values.
01:33 I am very happy, I wasn't expecting it, but it's very good to be recognised.
01:39 The four awardees will join Australian of the Year recipients from other states and territories in January for the national awards.
01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]