1 December 2023

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) and the Rerum Novarum Foundation have announced the winners of the Rerum Novarum Awards 2023.

Congratulations to the 2023 Rerum Novarum award-winners:

• Gold: Parade College, Bundoora.
  Through the Eddie’s Backpacks program, students donated bags to children in foster care transitioning to a new home environment.
• Silver (joint winners): Clonard College, Herne Hill, and Catholic Ladies’ College, Eltham.
  Students at Clonard College organised a ‘Justice Meal Day’, where most students randomly received inadequate food to raise awareness of this daily reality for many in our world.
  Catholic Ladies College students sought to create a pollinator garden, featuring local indigenous plants to attract pollinators, to connect their environment with our Catholic tradition and the spirituality of our First Nations people.
• Encouragement award: Salesian College, Sunbury.

Aligned with Australian Catholic Bishops Conference social justice statements and encyclicals of the Catholic Church, the Rerum Novarum Awards ask students in Years 9 to 12 to address a social justice issue in their community. Using the ‘See, Judge, Act’ method, students apply the principles of Catholic social teaching to their project. Entries include a research paper, project impact report and video presentation. Seed grants of $1000 are available to schools to develop their projects, with further grants awarded to the winning entries.

Presentation of the awards will take place with students and teachers early next year to share their passion for social justice and to celebrate their achievements. Details about the next Rerum Novarum Awards will be available in early 2024 on the RESource website.