In this years’ student anthology project, we want you to flex your creativity in exploring the idea of networks and what they mean to you. Get thinking about some unique ways networks operate across the world on a global scale and on a smaller, more personal level. Here are some creative prompts to get you inspired about the different interpretations of networks.
Vrishali Jain is a talented writer who has written for the last two anthologies and for various radio channels in India. Originally from Kanpur, India, she now calls Sydney home, busily working as a producer at SBS Hindi. 'All for a promise' is an inspiring tale of a community-led tree conservation movement in New Delhi. Her story chronicles the courageous women who fought against the destruction of the forests. The Chipko movement became well known for the peaceful protest, of women creating physical barriers and hugging the trees.
Charlotte Lim is an advocate of climate justice and animal rights. She spends her spare time volunteering at NSW Hen Rescue, an animal sanctuary dedicated to the liberation of all animals, especially caged hens.
Hannah is a poetry writer, studying English literature at Sydney University. She believe that the world is sacred, and it is our human duty to preserve and guard it as its stewards. The poems she has submitted in this years anthology are about that duty.
What does it mean for something to be ‘inevitable’? We know that the sun will rise each day and set each night (until millions of years from now when it inevitably doesn’t). We know that if you’re working in a group project, there’ll inevitably be someone who doesn’t pull their weight. We know that scientists are making predictions that sea ice will retreat to a small fringe by 2040, polar bear populations will decline by more than 30% in the next 35-40 years, and our world’s temperature will increase by more than 2° Celsius.
It feels like we are on the precipice of an apocalypse. In 2018, global carbon emissions hit a record high as energy demand and coal usage increased according to the International Energy Agency. Some species the seemed abundant in coral reefs may actually be going extinct as a result of reproductive failure. It is estimated that within two generations, rising sea levels could displace millions of people. In times of strife, we turn to media that reflects our reality; as demonstrated by the sudden explosion in book sales during the mid-year COVID-19 lockdown. In saying that, what kind of genre should you read next? Dystopia? Post-apocalypse? How about something a little different.
In almost every natural environment, trees play an important role in perpetuating life; providing shade, food, fuel, shelter to name a few. However, they are a slow growing species and what can take years to mature, can be destroyed in a very short space of time.
In all of the uncertainty that hovers in the foreground of our current social, economic and environmental climates, there is one thing that is certain; our world is changed, and the ramifications of such change are going to be significant.
The words ‘climate change’ often come with a sense of foreboding, an impending sense of doom that motivates us to...
Excerpt from Kylie by Adelia Croser, Student Anthology Diversity 2019. 'Have I ever told you about Kylie?’ My mother asked me and my sister. It wasn’t one of those moments you remember the details of, not like ‘I remember it as though it happened yesterday.’ If you ask me, we were talking, gathered around the kitchen table. If you ask my sister, we were driving back from somewhere – the shops? Violin lessons?...