Prize-winning perspective
Events
Mary MacKillop College Year 9 student Alana Daly has been selected as a finalist in a global photography competition run by UK-based charity, the Down’s Syndrome Association.
Mary MacKillop College Year 9 student Alana Daly has been selected as a finalist in a global photography competition run by UK-based charity, the Down’s Syndrome Association.
Year 9 student and photographer, Alana Daly
Alana is the only Australian finalist in the competition My Perspective which has both adult and child categories and this year received a record-breaking 252 entries from around the world.
The finalists will be invited to attend a special awards ceremony in London at the historic Normansfield Theatre on November 6 where the winners of the various categories will be announced.
Alana’s photograph entitled Sleeping Beauty was one of three entries she submitted and was short-listed in the Light and Shadow category.
It was taken in Adelaide’s East End as part of the Kensington school’s Rite Journey program which involves students spending 12 hours out-of-school to learn a new skill.
Her mum, Linda, who mentored Alana and accompanied her as she took photographs around the city, said she happened to come across the photography competition through the Down syndrome network.
She said Alana was non-plussed but “happy” to learn her photo was short-listed.
“I’m always happy,” Alana told her mum.
Linda described her daughter as “delightful, she puts a smile on everyone’s face and is full of energy and humour”.
The Rite Journey is a year-long program which begins with a ‘departure’ from childhood ceremony, a camp and activities focusing on students’ responsibilities as they approach adulthood and a ‘homecoming’ celebration at the end of the year.
Linda said Alana loved school and didn’t like it when she couldn’t go for some reason.
“It takes quite a village to raise a child with complex needs and the school has been very accommodating and inclusive,” she said.
In its 15th year, My Perspective aims to give people who have Down syndrome the opportunity to showcase the world through their eyes.
CEO of the Down’s Syndrome Association Carol Boys OBE said the competition showcased the “incredible creativity, passion and talent from people who have Down syndrome”.
Footnote: The UK uses the term Down’s, rather than Down, syndrome because of the connection to Langdon Down, the British physician who classified the genetic condition.
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