Beyond Empathy - snapshot of 2013
by Anna Buduls, Chair
It has been another year of very hard work, and of great achievements at Beyond Empathy. Two particular highlights include Phillip Crawford bringing to fruition and to the big screen, the wonderful, and already internationally acclaimed, film, Rites of Passage, and the joyous celebratory Silver City Song Lines performance event in Armidale. Both artistic outcomes paid tribute to the dedication and creative capacities of the young people with whom Beyond Empathy works, and both made audience members glow with pride and joy on behalf of the performers.
Almost 10 years old now, Beyond Empathy, continues to hone its practice and craft, striving simultaneously for both the best outcomes for the young people with whom we work and the best artistic outcomes. Our executive director, Kim McConville, passionately constantly pushes the organisation forward. At BE we never assume that how we did things yesterday or last month can’t be improved on.And we watch over more and more of our BE leadership program “graduates” take on actual leadership roles within and outside BE.
Our mantra “one on one, one by one and for the long haul” is paying real dividends. As with all not for profits, fundraising for our work is a never ending and time consuming task. We are grateful for all those organisations and individuals who see fit to stick with us or to join us on our journey.And finally, I want to acknowledge the contribution of my fellow board members, who all generously donate both their time and their funds. During the year one of our founding directors, David Thompson, retired from the board and we wish to thank him for his years of contributed wisdom. Julien Playoust was a new board recruit, with us for most of the past year, and we are also delighted to announce that Sam Meers is joining our board commencing on October 2014. With these board changes we will see an injection of new ideas and insights into board deliberations, which in turn will be of benefit to the larger Beyond Empathy team for its next decade of activity.
Click here for a visual representation of Beyond Empathy's 2012-2013 Annual Report