Close the Gap Day will be held on Thursday 24th March and will feature a focus on young Australians with a Schools Kit to allow students and teachers around Australia to get involved and make their own contribution to closing the gap.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can expect to live substantially shorter lives than other Australians – up to 20 years less in some cases.

Babies born to Aboriginal mothers die at twice the rate of other Australian babies. And they experience higher rates of preventable illness such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

It’s a health crisis you’d associate with an impoverished nation, but it’s happening right here in our own backyard.

National Close The Gap Day is an annual event of major significance to all Australians in seeking to close the gap in Indigenous health equality.

Since 2005, more than 140 thousand people have joined the campaign, which calls for national action to close the 10-17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians within a generation.  Close the Gap has been supported by all Australian Federal, State and Territory Governments and Oppositions.   For more information check out the Close The Gap website.

In recognition of the generational nature of Australia’s efforts to close the gap, 2011 will see new emphasis placed on students with schools around Australia being encouraged to hold their own events on, or during the week of Thursday 24th March.

A National Close The Gap Day Schools Kit has been developed and will include:

• Suggestions for National Close The Gap Day school events and activities
• Free posters, stickers and printed Close The Gap material
• The 2011 National Close The Gap Day DVD
• Education resources for teachers, including material to help students to organise their own campaign action or event.
• Ideas and options for students and teachers to make their own contribution to closing the gap

Close The Gap Website