Wellbeing - Whole School

2026 EREA National Young Leaders' Gathering

During the past summer holidays, on 19 January, I was fortunate enough to embark on a four-day trip to Adelaide for the 2026 EREA Youth Leaders’ Gathering. The purpose of the Gathering was to connect with school leaders from EREA schools around Australia. There were 58 students in attendance, flying into Adelaide eager to meet new, like-minded people, share ideas, and ultimately improve our own leadership.

All 58 leaders stayed in the dormitories of Rostrevor College, a beautiful EREA boarding school located on the outskirts of Adelaide city. During the four-day stay, we were led by Adam Whitefield, the Education Leader for the EREA National Team, who guided us through a range of activities, group tasks, and individual reflection.

As a group educated in the Edmund Rice tradition, we explored the four EREA Touchstones: Justice and Solidarity, Gospel Spirituality, Liberating Education, and Inclusive Community. Coming from a wide spread of cities across the country, it was interesting to discuss and share how we live out these Touchstones in our own school communities. To express our understanding, we split into groups with one leader from each state and created a video demonstrating how young people can embody the EREA Touchstones in everyday activities. We were also given the opportunity to hear from former EREA school captains from India and South Africa via a video call.

One of my key highlights of the trip was our day walk through Morialta Conservation Park, the land of the Kaurna people. It was an honour to be joined by Kaurna Elder Uncle Tamaru and to walk through sacred land, bushland, waterfalls, and a cave on one of the rock faces where Uncle used to play as a child. He shared fascinating facts about trees and leaves, including that if you hug a tree and your fingers cannot touch, the tree is over 100 years old.

Another highlight was hearing from the keynote speaker, Madeleine Kelly, who shared footage from her experience working with communities in Tanzania, East Africa, where she helped establish a funded education facility for underprivileged children who would otherwise never have had access to schooling. The footage showed families going to extraordinary lengths to enrol their children. It was confronting to gain a true insight into the poverty and lack of education experienced by some communities, and this encouraged us to change the way we look through our own metaphorical window, beyond the comfort we may take for granted in our daily lives. Her analogy prompted us to reflect on the many issues in our world today and how we perceive them in relation to our own ways of life. If we can collectively make small changes to what we see, and don’t see through our windows, we can help make our school a place of joy, where great memories are made and everyone feels seen, valued, and supported.

Some of the unplanned and unforgettable moments of the trip included karaoke night, where we sang and danced in the games room while belting out songs during a competitive pool tournament, a trip to the local aquatic centre, and learning about the differences between states, including debating the correct name for a HSP (Halal Snack Pack, Meat Box, or Adelaide Best).

As our friendships grew stronger and our time together was coming to a fast close, it was decided that we must compete in a 6:00 AM Touch Football State of Origin on Rostrevor’s main oval. After defending our state’s bragging rights, NSW took home the win in the dying moments of the morning.

It was an incredible and memorable experience coming together with student leaders from different states around Australia, with whom I had so much in common. I look forward to bringing the learnings from this Adelaide trip back to St Patrick’s College and using them to grow as a leader.

Francesco Mazza | 2026 College Captain

It was an incredible and memorable experience coming together with leaders from different states around Australia, with whom I had so much in common.