Friday, January 22, 2010

Open letter to the Premier of South Australia, the Honourable Mike Rann


Good afternoon, and thank you for taking the time to read my message.

I am disheartened to hear about South Australia losing tourism dollars to other states due to the lack of funding in the arts and I have decided to do something about that. I would appreciate your consideration and help on the matter.
A bit about myself.
I am a 52 years old Electronics Engineer and Project manager originally from Romania, now living in Adelaide.
I have Masters degree from the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest and 17 years ago I came to Australia, after a few years in Research in Romania, to help fill in the skills shortage in my field.
I could never find work in Australia in research, apart from six months with a small enterprise in biotechnology that went bust.
My 17 years in Australia have been dedicated to moving manufacturing offshore, a very sad endeavour for our state.

After successfully making my jobs redundant so many times, I have become unemployed again.
One doesn't have to be Premier to realise that at 52 the chances of finding meaningful (even menial) employment are extremely slim.
I am a living example of a policy based on innuendo regarding the skills shortages in this country.
At the moment I am using my right hand side of the brain by painting abstract and impressionistic paintings which reveal my journey through a range of mediums and techniques to keep the brain evenly, but not fully, occupied.

I am also organising the second edition of the Outsiders Festival - Adelaide - September 2010.
After the success of the first Outsiders Festival, there is a very strong interest in the festival from interstate and overseas.

Hearing that you are philanthropists amongst other endeavours, I am writing to you to ask for help.
Money would help in advertising the event and pay my bills, a dedicated space for a permanent exhibition would no doubt make the Outsiders an all-year-round event.

Many thanks, in advance.

Faithfully Yours,

Stefan Maguran

www.maguran.com
www.outsiders-festival.com