June Oscar AO, the current Desmond Tutu Reconciliation fellow, has won the Western Australia Local Hero award and was nominated as one of the 32 national finalists for 2017 Australian of the Year.

National Australia Day Council CEO, Chris Kirby, said the finalists were chosen from four award categories including educators, community volunteers, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and humanitarians.

Helping a person in need is very easy to do. All it takes to get started is a smile and asking them if they need your assistance. Serving people who need help may not cost you anything more than a few minutes of your time, but the joy you can bring to someone’s life is priceless. And it could even win you the Nobel Peace Prize.

Over 60 doctors and professors from a remarkably diverse range of disciplines have urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, Leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce, Leader of the Greens Richard Di Natale, and Senator Nick Xenophon to take a strong stance against hate speech in Australia. In an Open Letter to Australia’s Prime Minister & political leaders, the academics voiced their opposition to recent statements made by several public figures which followed a disturbing trend of religious discrimination, especially towards those of the Muslim faith.

Anis Chouchène, a Tunisian poet, is the artist of peace. On 22 April 2015, Anis read his poem on local TV and it immediately went viral all over the world. Peace be upon you talks about peace, society, racism and religious extremism.

June Oscar's moving acceptance speech at the 2016 Desmond Tutu Reconciliation Fellowship award brought the crowd to a standing ovation. Former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce lovingly presented the award to June, for her extraordinary work in reconciliation and outstanding community health achievements in the Kimberley's Fitzroy Valley. Russell Smith from Manta trio treated us to a beautiful didgeridoo performance during the ceremony.

Something big is happening at the Melbourne Town Hall this Thursday evening.

Former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce is presenting the 2016 Desmond Tutu Reconciliation Fellowship, a prestigious award that celebrates individuals doing extraordinary work in reconciliation.

For those of you who may feel torn about missing Family Feud this week, here’s 5 great reasons why you should come to the Town Hall instead.

June Oscar AO, one of Australia's most energetic indigenous leaders, has won the Desmond Tutu Reconciliation Fellowship for 2016. This prestigious award celebrates individuals doing extraordinary work in reconciliation.

Former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO will present this year’s Desmond Tutu Reconciliation Fellowship award at the Melbourne Town Hall on 19 May 2016.

On 21 March 2016, President Barack Obama traveled to Cuba; he was the first US President to visit the island nation since 1928. This landmark event was part of recent diplomatic efforts to normalize US-Cuban relations after decades of Cold War hostility.

Christina Plant (CP) gets the view of Dr Elizabeth Kath (EK), Lecturer at RMIT’s School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, Co-Director of Global Reconciliation, Honorary Research Fellow with the UN Global Compact Cities Programme, and author of new book Australian-Latin American Relations: New Links in a Changing Global Landscape, on President Obama's historic visit.

Hanan Al Hroub teaches at the Samiha Khalil High School in the Palestinian West Bank city of Al-Bireh, where students witness unimaginable acts of violence in their everyday lives. Stabbings, shootings and bombings happen regularly in Al-Bireh because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The life of Nanko Van Buuren is remembered as a shining example of courage, vision, compassion and unwavering commitment to social justice and reconciliation. Many owe their lives to him, and he devoted his own life in service of improving the lives of the most disadvantaged and marginalised people of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He ventured into places that others were afraid to tread, built bridges across seemingly insurmountable social divides, devoted himself to even the most precarious and difficult social problems, and transformed the communities where he worked.