Social Justice Campaigner Awarded OAM
13 June 2013 at 9:25 am
The Founder of Not for Profit technology social enterprise, Infoxchange Australia , Andrew Mahar, has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (AM) for his life’s work in pursuit of social justice.
The Queen’s Birthday Honour is for his significant service to the community and social justice through the provision of access to technology, and to Timor Leste.
The award is in recognition of Mahar’s vision, leadership, entrepreneurship and achievements over three decades.
As a community organiser in both Australia and the Asia Pacific Region, Mahar has been involved in creating social enterprises in Australia for 25 years and in Timor Leste for 10 years with the vision to create social equality and opportunity by empowering people through access to information technology and enabling the exchange of information and ideas.
He has been an advocate of the need for universal access to information communication technologies irrespective of income, ability or location if Australia is to be a civil and democratic society in the 21st Century.
In more recent years, Andrew has founded xpand Foundation, a social enterprise committed to an inclusive society that values the sustainable livelihood and happiness of every individual.
An xpand Foundation initiative is WithOneSeed, a social enterprise that is taking action on climate change through reforestation projects with a focus on both Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.
Mahar said WithOneSeed is dedicated to improving the resilience of subsistence communities through social and economic participation, to make environments sustainable, to end poverty and hunger, to deliver universal education and to create regional partnerships.
