The Royal Australian Mint has come on board as the major sponsor of the 2012 Read2Remember Coin Design Competition where children from across Australia are encouraged to submit a design which reflects the courage of our service men and women.
The Read2Remember campaign, which aims to improve literacy skills and wellbeing among children, is free for all schools to register. It has clearly struck a strong chord with 1,480 schools and up to 295,000 school children across Australia participating in the event on 9 November, the Friday before Remembrance Day on 11 November.
The campaign is an initiative of Sunshine Coast-based organisation SunnyKids and is supported by the Encouragement Foundation. As part of the campaign, schools are encouraged to read celebrated Queensland author Rupert McCall's poem "Pledge of Remembrance", written especially for the occasion.
SunnyKids CEO and founder of Read2Remember Chris Turner said he was thrilled to have an iconic national brand such as the Royal Australian Mint on board as a sponsor.
"The Royal Australian Mint's involvement provides a lot of credibility for the Read2Remember program as well as much needed funds to ensure we can reach as many schools as possible across Australia.
"The competition asks participants to create a coin design which reflects what Remembrance Day means to them. Designs are predicted to depict the characteristics of courage and resilience found within our servicemen and women and this is a perfect fit with the Read2Remember program," Mr Turner said.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon Bernie Ripoll MP, commented on how partnerships such as these were valuable to developing young people.
"In the lead-up to the Anzac centenary, this is a great initiative from the Royal Australian Mint and Read2Remember to encourage young Australians to understand the significance of Remembrance Day through developing their literacy skills.
"The Royal Australian Mint has already had such a great response to the competition and you just never know, the winning design could end up on a coin one day," Mr Ripoll said.
Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Warren Snowdon MP, said young people were very interested in Australia's wartime history and that interest was growing as we approach the Centenary of Anzac.
"Australia's current serving men and women in uniform, as well as our strong veterans community, are a great part of our national story. Encouraging our children to engage with their stories ensures their service and sacrifice is never forgotten," Mr Snowdon said.
The Australian Government has supported SunnyKids with a $2,000 Saluting Their Service grant towards the Read2Remember program.
The winning designer will receive a WACOM Intuos5 Series Graphics Tablet used by Royal Australian Mint designers to create new coins. The winning designer's school will also receive an invitation to the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra to visit the nation's capital and experience how money is made with a special tour of the Mint.
The winner will be announced on 7 December on the Royal Australian Mint website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.
To enter into the 2012 Read2Remember Coin Design Competition, download your registration form from the Royal Australian Mint website. Entries close 16 November 2012.
6 November 2012