Hello everyone,
Being the Eighth Australian Children’s Laureate has been one of the greatest honours of my career. Over the past two years, it has been a joy and a privilege to represent children’s reading, champion writers, teachers, and librarians, and speak with leaders and change makers to help shape policies and initiatives that support literacy in this country.
This role has taken me both in person and virtually, to a wide array of communities and audiences, via every state and territory of Australia, as well as overseas. Engaging with over 75,000 young readers, their families, passionate teachers, librarians, booksellers, writers, illustrators, and countless champions of children’s literature, while reaching a further 15 million plus people online and through the media, has made advocating for an equitable reading experience for every child, even more rewarding. Each conversation, classroom visit, festival stage, and chance encounter have played a vital part in ensuring that all kids can be readers.
This is the message at the heart of my campaign, and a lot of my work. Advocating for the children who fall through the cracks, the ones who struggle quietly, overlooked in busy classrooms, or who have never been handed a book that speaks to them, is my deepest commitment…
Read the rest of Sally Rippin’s thank you and farewell here.
