ABOUT ME

My name is Brian Bond. I am a member of the Christian Brothers, a Catholic Religious Order of Brothers founded by Blessed Edmund Rice in 1802 in Waterford, Ireland for the education of poor boys. The Order has traditionally conducted schools (and still does) but more recently its members have diversified into a broad range of other educational ministries to youth and the disadvantaged.

At present Christian Brothers are to be found working in Africa (Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe); The Americas (Argentine, Canada, Dominica, Paraguay, Peru and the USA); Asia (China and India); Europe (Belarus, England, France and Ireland); and Oceania (Australia, Cook Islands, East Timor, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Philipinnes).

Throughout Australia and the world are many who identify with the ideals of Edmund Rice, who support the work of the Brothers and who seek to live out a committment to these ideals through their involvement with the Edmund Rice Network.

SCHOOLS IN WHICH I HAVE TAUGHT

Aquinas College, Ringwood (1970);
St Marys, West Melbourne, (now Simonds College) (1971-72);
St Josephs, Abbotsford (1973-75);(since closed)
St Virgils, Hobart (1976);
St Patricks, Ballarat(1978-1982);
St Bernards, Essendon, where I was both Deputy Principal and then Principal (1983-88)

Parade College, Bundoora where I was Principal (1989-1994);

Guildford Young College, Hobart (1996); and
Chanel College Geelong (Deputy Principal (1997-1999).

In 1977 I studied full-time at the University of Melbourne and completed a Science degree. In 1995-1996 I was granted further study leave which was spent mainly in Jerusalem and Dublin.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

In Feb 2000 I took up residence in the Community House at "Amberley" in Lower Plenty (a north-eastern suburb of Melbourne) as facilitator of the community of five young adults whilst at the same time engaging in a variety of projects across the network of Brothers' schools in this Province.

In 2004 I lived in the Brother's Community at Rosanna in north-east Melbourne. In 2005 I moved again to a new community in Sunshine in the western suburbs of Melbourne, which was formed to support an outreach to refugee families through the provision of an after-school homework tuition program staffed by volunteers.

During the period 2000-2007 my role was to raise the awareness of Brothers' and school communities in regard to justice issues. My activities included:-
- the production of an Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin (which I continue to produce) and which is emailed to interested people approximately every two weeks.
- the organization of seminars for students from across the Christian Brothers network of schools intended to provide education about particular issues and stimulation for action
- active membership of a variety of committees and groups such as:-
    Christian Brothers/Presentation Sisters Justice Group;
    Social Action Committee of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Congregations in Victoria (CLRCV);
    Polmin, a political lobby group which sought to influence public policy for the common good in accord with Catholic Social Teaching. I was a Director of Polmin.

Some of my essays on justice themes undertaken as part of my study towards a Diploma of Social Justice Studies at can be read here

Convenor of the Australia New Zealand Edmund Rice Volunteer Scheme (ANZERVS) which involved overseeing the preparation, placement and debriefing of (mainly young) people who volunteer to share in the Brothers' ministry in Australia and abroad.

Secretary of the Australian Missionary Network a sub-committee of the Catholic Religious Australia (CRA)

Board of Management of St Kevins College

Member of the Youth and Young Adult Edmund Rice Network (YERN) Committee

Executive Officer of the Edmund Rice Network Co-ordinating Committee. Part of that role involved editing the publication Edmund Rice Network News

Member of the National Co-ordinating Group for the Edmund Rice Network in Australia and New Zealand

CURRENT RESPONSIBILITY

In October 2007 I took up a position with Edmund Rice International near Geneva Switzerland, (I actually live at Gaillard in France) where I am involved advocacy for the global promotion of social justice and human rights.

Those interested can follow progress of this initiative and my life in Geneva through an online diary I have maintained. I also have a presence on Facebook

INTERESTS,

I am a passionate supporter (and member) of the Geelong Football Club

History, especially family history, and have included an account of my own family history on this website.

Travel. I have been fortunate to having had the opportunity to travel widely, mainly in Europe but also in Africa and Asia where I have been able to enjoy meeting with and learning from people of different cultures.
In late 2005 I attended the "Flare Up Like a Flame" Social Justice Symposium in Kolkata, India, and in July 2006 I participated in the "Karibu" cross-cultural immersion program in Nairobi, Kenya. Some photos from those events can be found here - just enter the tag 'brianbond' and do a search

Whilst Principal at Parade I helped establish a "sister school" exchange program with Takada High School in Mie Prefecture Japan.

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