The Queen has served as Head of the Commonwealth for 60 years. During that time she has won the respect and admiration of many Australians for her outstanding life of public service. In 1954, just two years after she became Queen, she became the first reigning monarch ever to visit Australia. Since then, she has been a frequent visitor to our country. Her visit last year with Prince Phillip to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee marked her 16th journey down under.

The Queen has experienced all aspects of life and culture in our country and through her “Royal Walkabouts”, which she pioneered in 1970, has met many Australians. She has developed a warm and unique relationship with Australia and is extremely knowledgeable about our country. In 1956, she sent Prince Charles to study at Geelong Grammar School’s Timbertop campus in at the foothills of the Victorian Alps and in 2011, she despatched her grandson, Prince William, to visit flood victims in Queensland.

In 1963, Australia’s Outback community went into meltdown the day of the Queen’s broadcast to people in remote communities over the Flying Doctor Network in Alice Springs.

The world watched when she officially opened the Sydney Opera House in 1973. She helped us celebrate our Bicentenary celebrations in 1988 along with Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. On that visit she also

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust has been established to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s unrivalled 60 year contribution to the Commonwealth.

Left: The Queen at the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth. During her reign, she has clocked up a lot of miles visiting Australia and other Commonwealth countries. The middle photograph shows the Queen on her first visit to Australia in 1954.

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opened Australia’s new Parliament House in Canberra, Darling Harbour in Sydney and World Expo 88 in Brisbane.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust provides Australians – and people and governments across the Commonwealth – with a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to the Queen, by contributing as she has requested, to initiatives that will endure beyond her lifetime.

Establishment of the Trust was announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth in 2011. Former British Prime Minister, Sir John Major, is Chairman of its Board of Trustees which includes the Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma. A network of Country Representatives from the various Commonwealth countries has also been appointed.

The Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia has been established to raise funds in Australia for the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to contribute to a lasting legacy to the Queen. It is chaired by former Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery as Australia’s National Representative.

The Trust will raise funds to support projects that will help people throughout the Commonwealth including Australia and the South Pacific. The Trust welcomes donations from individuals, groups, organisations and companies in Australia, and inside and outside the Commonwealth.

Message from the Chairman

In the course of 60 years on the throne, the Queen has developed a very strong personal relationship with Australia and its people through some 16 visits to our shores.

She has travelled widely throughout the states and territories to meet citizens from all walks of life in this enormous and fascinating country.

I believe my own deeply held respect and admiration for Her Majesty, is also shared by the Australian people, because of her impeccable personal example and her unmatched sense of service to us all.

The Queen has not only lived through a tumultuous period in world history but has played an active role in many of its events.

Prime Ministers and other national leaders from across the Commonwealth have benefitted from her vast experience, wisdom and sound judgement, always given with courtesy and proven confidentiality.

It is these qualities and attributes that have made Her Majesty such a trusted and respected Head of the Commonwealth for 60 years.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust has been established Commonwealth wide to honour Her Majesty for a lifetime of exemplary service to it.

The Trust gives citizens, governments and the private sector, the opportunity to provide a lasting tribute to Her Majesty across all generations and geographical boundaries, through the delivery of iconic, proven projects over a finite time frame of five years.

I am grateful to the Prime Minister for her generous support of the Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia and I am honoured to be its chairman.

I am also grateful to a distinguished group of Australians who are supporting me as pro bono patrons and board members. We are working closely and collaboratively with the United Kingdom Trust.

May I suggest that The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust provides an unique opportunity to recognise the outstanding and enduring public service of Her Majesty the Queen, through achievable and worthy programs to improve the human condition.

I commend it to you all.

Australian Representative and Executive Chairman Major General Michael Jeffery AC, AO (Mil), CVO, MC (Retd)

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II heads a Commonwealth of more than two billion people living in 54 independent and largely English-speaking countries

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Right: The Queen first visited Australia in 1954 and over the years has been a frequent visitor to our shores. She has been here 16 times and has visited every state and our two mainland territories.

The Board oversees the direction and management of fundraising from Australians and ensures appropriate financial management of the funds contributed. It will monitor and report to Australians on the use of the funds.

Dr Neil Conn AO Ms Ita Buttrose AO, OBE Australian of the Year, 2013 Mr Michael Crouch AO Mr Bill Farmer AO Mr Russell Miller AM

Board of Australian Trustees

Sir Ralph Norris KNZM Mr Marc Purcell Ms Lyndall De Marco Mr Marvin Weinman Mr Dan Adams

Australian Representative and Executive Chairman Major General Michael Jeffery AC, AO (Mil), CVO, MC (Retd)

Our Patrons lend their prestige to support fundraising in Australia by publicising the purpose and importance of the Trust. The Patrons also provide guidance to the Board in its governance of the Trust in Australia.

Australian Patrons

Gina Rinehart Mr Bernie Fraser Mr Mick Gooda Mr Andrew Forrest

The Honourable John Howard OM AC

The Honourable Bob Hawke AC Sir Eric Neal AC CVO Mr Harold Mitchell AC Mr Hugh Morgan AC Lady Potter AC

Mr Kerry Stokes AC The Reverend Tim Costello AO Sir Rod Eddington AO Mrs Imelda Roche AO Mr Graham Bradley AM Mr Anthony Pratt

The Trust Worldwide

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust will support projects that will enrich the lives of citizens across the Commonwealth.

Avoidable Blindness

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is joining the global movement to end avoidable blindness by 2020. Throughout Australia and the Commonwealth an estimated 85 million people are visually impaired. Eleven million people are blind. The vast majority of visually-impaired people live in developing countries where eye health services are hugely inadequate but with early detection and better treatment 80 per cent of visual impairment cases would be avoidable.

The Trust will play an important role in energising the global action plan to end preventable blindness, including trachoma. Vision 2020 was launched under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1999 with the aim of eliminating the main causes of all preventable and treatable blindness as a public health issue by the year 2020. Since then the sight of millions of people in Commonwealth countries has been saved from blinding diseases. However, on a daily basis, people across the Commonwealth continue to lose their sight as these initiatives remain underfunded and are not given sufficient priority.

The Trust will therefore be focused on combating three blinding conditions: trachoma, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy (sight-threatening complications of

diabetes). It will invest in research, technology and skills development enabling the poorest people to receive the best possible care. It will also fund fellowships and foster links between international centres of excellence for eye health and eye care services across the Commonwealth, increasing surgical competence and making a significant impact on preventable blindness and loss of sight.

Investing in Young People

Young people make up more than half of the Commonwealth’s population – in many developing countries the figure is closer to three quarters. Investing in young people’s potential is critical to addressing the challenges of the 21st century but they are often overlooked or marginalised and their energy, skills and enthusiasm are not harnessed for national and global development.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust will work with experts from around the Commonwealth to develop a program that can maximise the potential of young people. It will provide the investment required to build and share skills, knowledge and experience, giving young people the opportunity to shape their own future, and that of their communities and the Commonwealth as a whole.

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Left: Ninety per cent of blind people live in developing countries such as Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh yet 80 per cent of visual impairment is avoidable. The Trust will work with recognised heath partners to foster early detection and better treatment programs.

The priority will be on eliminating trachoma in the Commonwealth, including Australia. As well as fundraising in Australia, the Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia will actively monitor this initiative.

Trachoma is a widespread cause of blindness in our region, including indigenous communities in Australia. A simple bacterial infection, trachoma causes the eventual scarring of the cornea. It is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. Although the disease can be eliminated, it is still endemic in some South Pacific countries including Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Unlike other developed countries, Australia still has trachoma (also known as sandy blight). Some thousands of indigenous Australians are at risk of this infection in remote regional areas.

The Trust will work with partners with a proven track record in tackling trachoma in Australia and neighbouring Commonwealth countries. It will promote the proven initiatives of safe water, hygiene control and surgical intervention to address this disease.

The Trust will work with recognised partners to develop programs for the early detection and better

treatment for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. Its prevalence will increase as populations age across the Commonwealth.

Diabetes is approaching epidemic proportions among people in the South Pacific, and as a result diabetes-related blindness is expected to dramatically increase in the coming years.

Avoidable blindness in indigenous Australian and regional communities

The aim of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is to play a catalytic role in energising the global action plan to end preventable blindness caused through trachoma, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

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Right: The Fred Hollows Foundation provides eye health care and treatment to Aboriginal communities in remote Australia and works with Aboriginal community-controlled health services in the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia. Indigenous Australians suffer six times the rate of avoidable blindness and vision loss than other Australians.

Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia PO Box 887 Canberra ACT 2601

For DonATIons AnD InForMATIon

Ph: +61 2 6178 5463 | Fax: +61 2 6178 4880 Email: info@jubileetrust.org.au | Web: www.jubileetrust.org.au