Mensa is a not-for-profit society. Its purposes are to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, encourage research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.
You'll find all sorts of people in Mensa. But Mensans worldwide have one thing in common: they're bright.
Mensa is an international society with only one criterion for membership: a score on a standardised IQ test higher than that of 98 per cent of the general population.
So no matter what you think or how you vote, why not consider joining us? We're always on the lookout for new members to further enrich our diversity of abilities, interests and opinions.
If you enjoy brain-teasers, stimulating articles and lively exchanges of views, you'll appreciate TableAus, our monthly magazine, which incorporates the Mensa International Journal. If you like to discuss world problems or the latest in science and technology, you're sure to find like-minded people at a Mensa event. Perhaps you just want to relax and exchange repartee with others who'll get your jokes and add their own quips. Many find Mensa a welcome relief.
Mensa offers opportunities to meet people, exchange ideas and make new friends at your intellectual level. Quick minds are welcomed; instant communication and comprehension are the rule rather than the exception.
By its International Constitution, there is no age limit for membership of Mensa - intelligence above the 98th percentile of the population is the only requirement. Children and young people are therefore eligible to join Mensa as full members in their own right. Mensa also has the aim of nurturing intelligence in the community. Because of these two facts, Mensa naturally has a strong focus in helping Gifted Children.
Every national Mensa around the world has a voluntary officer, the Gifted Children's Coordinator, who provides whatever assistance he or she is able to give, to gifted children, their families and teachers, the media, and anyone else who enquires. It is not necessary to be a member of Mensa, to contact the Gifted Children's Coordinator for help or advice.
The Gifted Children's Coordinator usually also administers any organised assistance, whether financial or other, which that National Mensa is able to offer to gifted children; this varies from country to country, depending on Mensa's resources in that country.
According to the internationally accepted definition that a gifted child is a child with intelligence above the 95th percentile of the population, all Mensans were themselves gifted children. Mensa members therefore have a wealth of experience of the full range of problems and joys of being a gifted child.
(See Gifted Children's FAQ for more information.)
Each year grants are made by Australian Mensa under the terms of a bequest of Alan Wilfred Bull. The grants being offered from this Bequest are available only to children in Australia who have at least one parent, one grandparent, and one great-grandparent who were all domiciled in Australia. The grants are available to facilitate studies which are in advance of those usually undertaken by children of the same age.
Grants may be made for: special tuition fees, travel and accommodation expenses, equipment (including books, study materials, musical instruments, computers, software, etc), or for any specific purpose directly facilitating advanced studies by the child.
Applications are judged on validity, and on detailed information explaining the quality and the importance to the applicant, of the purpose for the grant; the circumstances of the family, including total family income, and any other factors which contribute to the difficulty of providing assistance to the gifted child.
We expect to be able to make grants only to medium or low-income families, or families with other circumstances of hardship.
Conditions of entry follow and an application form is available for download.
CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION:
The application form and conditions of application for this year's grant may be photocopied. In case of any problem or difficulty, the Australian Mensa Gifted Children's Fund Administrator can be contacted via:
PO Box 2155
Byron Bay
NSW 2481
Tel: (02)6684 7829
Email: bullbequest at mensa. dot org dot au.
Queensland Association for Gifted & Talented Children
282 Stafford Road,
STAFFORD, QLD 4053
Phone: (07) 3352 4288, Fax (07) 3352 4388
Website: http://www.qagtc.org.au
Email: office at. qagtc dot org dot au.
Journal editor: mindscape at. qagtc dot org dot au.
NSW Association for Gifted & Talented Children Inc.
P.O. Box 1086,
STRATHFIELD N.S.W. 2135
Website: http://www.nswagtc.org.au
Email: farmer at. pobox dot com dot au.
ACT Support Group for G & T Children
PO Box 242
HAWKER ACT 2614
Dr Jenny Bell Phone (from NSW website)
Email: jenbell at. goldweb dot com dot au
Victorian Association for Gifted & Talented Children
PO Box 814,
MULGRAVE VIC 3170
Tasmanian Association for the Gifted Inc.
The Tasmanian Association for the Gifted (TAG) is a non-profit, parent based organisation, affiliated with the Australian Association for the Education of Gifted and Talented (AAEGT).
Website: http://www.neat.tas.edu.au/tasgifted/
GTCSA Inc.,
PO Box 303 Mitcham Shopping Centre,
TORRENS PARK S.A. 5062
Parent Vice-President: Ann Matison, (08)8373 4968
NTAEGT
Po Box 258
PARAP NT 0820
President: Ms Debbie Fitzgerald, (08) 8981 3074
The Gifted and Talented Children's Association of WA has the following contacts:
President: Janelle Spicer (08) 9257 1447
Secretary: Kriss Muskett (08) 9385 7962
Website: http://www.gatcawa.20m.com
The following is a list of Web sites for Gifted Children, current February 2000.