Congratulations to Tourism Media writer Johnny Danalis who was commended yesterday in Federal Parliament.
Johnny recently delivered a keynote speech at a Griffith University Adult Learners Week event which was attended by federal and local politicians including the honourable Dr Jim Chalmers MP – Federal Member for Rankin. Johnny’s speech outlined his experience as an adult learner which was pivotal in the creation of his novel, Riding the Black Cockatoo.
First published five years ago, Johnny’s book quickly became a bestseller and is currently being studied as a text in Year 10 English classes in the UK.
Yesterday in federal parliament, Chalmers acknowledged the importance of adult learning in the community and commended Johnny on his “great novel”.
Johnny said he had never dreamed his name would be mentioned in Federal Parliament and feels particularly honoured.
We think it is a deserving accolade considering how much Johnny gives back to the community.
50% of all royalties of Riding the Black Cockatoo continue to go to the Wamba Wamba people, and Johnny has volunteered his time in Aboriginal communities and has served as an Ambassador with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
After a long hiatus, Johnny took a month’s leave recently to work on his latest novel.
Tourism Media is proud of the creativity of its people and is always happy to support their endeavours, both inside and outside of work.
Here’s a video of the speech.
