Outback Pioneers founder, Richard Kinnon, says Longreach is excited to be hosting Storyfest Out West, which is a win for literacy among remote students and a win for the storytelling tradition.
In its second year of sponsoring the student literature festival, which will be in town from 26 to 28 July, Outback Pioneers says the festival helps give remote and Distance Education students some of the same opportunities as their city counterparts.
The festival, run by Somerset Storyfest which is a charity based on the Gold Coast , forms part of the organisation’s regional programme. It is bringing authors to Longreach for three days of inspiring activities and workshops with students and adults.
Richard Kinnon has a passion to give outback children a literacy education he missed out on.
“I had a lot of incredible life lessons living in the bush and I can tell a yarn or two but I still feel a bit embarrassed about my spelling and grammar,” Richard said.
As well as hosting the authors in Longreach, Richard was a guest storyteller at Storyfest on the Gold Coast in March. Outback Pioneers also introduced the ‘Outback Hero’ writing competition and provided a holiday prize for the winner.
“Working with Storyfest, I can help our outback kids and share the stories and lessons of pioneering times with young folk on the coast,” Richard said.
“Whether our kids end up running a sheep station or writing the next best-seller, or developing a tourism enterprise like Outback Pioneers, they need the skills to express themselves and to communicate their ideas.
“Storyfest is doing a great job supporting higher educational standards for young people in remote and regional parts of Queensland and is helping build a bridge between city and bush,” Richard Kinnon said.
Outback Pioneers in Longreach is a winner of multiple tourism awards, including the prestigious Queensland Tourism Award Gold Award for Cultural Tourism. It also runs a school excursion itinerary where students can live the lessons of pioneer life, past and present.
For more details:
outbackpioneers.com.au/groups/school-excursions/
https://www.storyfest.com.au/outwest
Key Facts:
Storyfest Out West writing festival returns to outback Queensland for a second year
Somerset Storyfest supports higher educational standards for young people in remote and regional Queensland
