MEDIA RELEASE                   
TUESDAY 24 MAY 2016

ASPIRE EXCITED TO COLLABORATE WITH LA TROBE

Aspire Cultural and Charitable Foundation CEO Margaret O’Rourke has congratulated La Trobe University historian Dr Jennifer Jones on her award of a $164,000 research grant to probe the region’s religious diversity.

Ms O’Rourke says research outcomes derived from the grant will assist in the Aspire Foundation’s efforts to build community cohesion through the development of Australia’s first faith-based precinct, the Aspire Precinct, which will foster inter-faith collaboration.

“The precinct will provide an ongoing point of connection between the general community and scholarly knowledge, particularly as it will constantly update its educational services and public programs in line with cutting-edge historical research,” Ms O’Rourke said.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) awarded the grant to La Trobe University and partner organisations the City of Greater Bendigo and the Aspire Cultural and Charitable Foundation.
The Aspire Foundation will provide support in areas such as research expertise, funding and access to archival collections.

The research project aims to re-discover, interpret and share knowledge about the role and value of faith during the Gold Rush, on the goldfields, up until today.

“This project is the first collaboration between the Aspire Foundation and La Trobe University. It represents the beginning of a rich and promising connection between producers and users of expert knowledge. It also extends Aspire’s association with the City of Greater Bendigo on the Aspire Precinct Enterprise,” Ms O’Rourke said.

pdf  Click to download the "ASPIRE linkage grant" media release

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