In July 2011 Desert2Surf, in partnership with the Roper Gulf Shire, conducted the Stand and Lead Project in the remote indigenous community of Beswick. Beswick lies 110kms south-east of Katherine on the Central Arnhem Highway, in the Northern Territory, Australia.
The project aimed to skill up Indigenous Youth Leaders from Beswick in the art of stand-up paddling. Stand-up paddling is the perfect inland alternative to surfing and provides fantastic skill transfer to riding ocean waves on a surfboard. The Youth Leaders involved in Stand and Lead took to stand-up paddling flawlessly and on the second day of the project were able to demonstrate their leadership abilities by passing on the skill to younger members of Beswick. The Youth Leaders are now set to travel south in 2012 on a cultural exchange trip with Desert2Surf on Victoria’s West Coast.
Our sincere thanks go to the Roper Gulf Shire for its awesome partnering, the people of Beswick for their warmth and Global Vision International for its financial support of this project.
