Rotary Adventures in Citizenship in 2016

RAIC is held in the Federal Parliament's Budget sitting week. The Budget session is an exciting time for RAIC delegates to be in Canberra immersed in the processes of our Federal Parliamentary system. 
Through contacts Rotarians and the Parliamentary Education Office have, delegates get to go to places, engage in activities and meet people not normally available to visitors to Canberra. 
It is much, much more than just a school visit. Delegates from previous years have described RAIC as "the best week of my life"; "an awesome program"; and similar. 
The timing of the Budget session of Parliament has not yet been formally announced but it is almost certain to be the second week of May 2016 so RAIC will probably run from Saturday 7th of May to Saturday 14th of May 2016. 
We will confirm this date when we know what Parliament decides (probably in early December 2015). 
The cost of sponsoring a delegate to attend RAIC ($1,000) is usually borne by the sponsoring Rotary club, but you might like to consider whether costs might be shared, perhaps with another Rotary club, or with your delegate's family making some contribution. The cost covers travel to and from Canberra (mostly by air from a capital city/major regional airport), all accommodation, all entrance fees and meals. 

We invite you to include sending a delegate to RAIC 2016 in your planning for this Rotary year. It would also be useful to talk to your local schools before they adjourn for the Christmas break with a view to identifying students who will be in Year 11 in 2016 and would benefit from attending RAJ C. Please note that while we will accept more than one delegate from one Rotary club, we prefer not to take more than one delegate from the same school. We like to give the delegates new experiences and the opportunity to meet new people so they get the maximum benefit from their RAIC participation. 
This is an initial letter to introduce your Club to the RAIC program and to encourage you and your local school(s) to seek out suitable delegates from the students who will be in Year 11 in 2016. We will be sending your club a formal application letter early in 2016, so please be on the lookout for it. 
For more information and a brief outline of the program, visit the RAIC website www.raic.org.au or email us on raic.aus@gmail.com 
We believe you will find RAIC is good value for money. It gives young people who will be voters in only a year or so valuable insights into what it means to be an Australian citizen and how their votes translate into laws we all have to abide by. Contact your school to identify potential delegates before school ends for this year so in 2016 all systems are "go".