Brigidine College St. Ives - Sydney Hub

As Term 1 draws to a close, the final weeks have been hallmarked by the Kildare 10th Anniversary Conference that took place across five hubs in Week 9, including Brigidine College St Ives as the Sydney Hub. The conference celebrated 10 Years of Kildare Ministries, our overarching governing body, and saw over 1300 people from 10 schools and three community works meet in Sydney, Brisbane, Geelong, Melbourne, and Adelaide. 

The conference theme, Crossing New Seas – Encounter, Dream, Do, explored the unity, shared purpose and future of the Kildare Ministries schools and community works. 

The conference hubs hosted staff from Kildare Ministries, schools, and community works providing the opportunity to connect in person and online throughout the different sessions of the Conference. This meant that all 1300 participants across Australia were able to experience, collaborate, and celebrate the conference as one.  

Student voice was an important aspect of the conference, and we were able to hear from student leaders across all the 10 Kildare Ministries schools and representatives from the three community works. 

Over the three days participants were challenged by the keynote speakers to consider the future of the church, particularly within the context of the ministry they are part of. These speakers included Professor Ann Pattel-Gray, Dr Meredith Lake, Emeritus Professor John Warhurst AO, Dr. Elissa Roper, Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs, Francis Sullivan AO, and Fr Richard Leonard SJ. The various sessions enabled staff to gather their thoughts, to dream of the future for Kildare Ministries, particularly for the next 10 years. 

Following all the opportunities that the conference provided, we look forward to a deepening connection between staff and students with our sister Kildare Ministries schools and community works.