Sustainable Futures Convention
Communities in Action – Climate for Change
Sunday Presentation and Workshop Social Procurement: How can local Councils, businesses and organisations create economic growth and achieve their social objectives Cheryl Kernot is the Social Business Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact. Her role at Centre for Social Impact involves providing thought leadership on social business, social enterprise and social procurement. She writes…
Saturday and Sunday presenter and workshops Amanda Cahill is the Director and Founder of the Centre for Social Change. She founded the Centre because she is inspired by the many people around the world who are already making the world a better place to live and wants to support those doing good to do even…
Saturday and Sunday presenter and workshops Setting up a community energy project and what it offers regional communities in Australia. Jarra will share inspiring stories and pictures from communities that have set up their own renewable energy projects as a way to bring their communities clean energy, income, new skills, action on climate change, empowerment…
James Whelan is an activist educator committed to building powerful social movements that bring about social and environmental justice. James has worked with small and large civil society organisations including Greenpeace, Amnesty International and the Wilderness Society on campaigns to protect forests, promote clean air and uphold human rights. He has also been a researcher,…
Fee Mozeley is a community organiser and facilitator. She has worked with both government agencies and NGOs on a range of issues including urban forestry, community health impacts of particle pollution and sustaining community engagement. She has worked on biodiversity projects to measure the impact of green spaces in urban settings on wellbeing. She has…
Creating positive social change for everyone through a strong community. We know that rural communities, like Gloucester, face big challenges. Many services in rural communities are stretched. Looking after our young and older people is challenging. Unemployment, affordable housing and low incomes are a problem for many of us. The economy is changing as the…
Saturday Presentation and Workshop: “Gloucester and the Good Life: Sustaining Good Emotions in Our Relationship to The Earth” Glenn Albrecht retired as professor of sustainability at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia in June 2014. He was at the University of Newcastle as Associate Professor of Environmental Studies until December 2008. He is an environmental…
Sunday Workshop: Supporting Mental Health. – how to recognise when someone isn’t travelling well – how to talk to someone your worried about – where to go for help – looking after yourself and minimising stress. Based in Tamworth, Kate Arndell has held the role of a Rural Adversity Mental Health coordinator for over 5…
Sunday Workshop: Growing The Arts In Regional Australia About Mark: Mark Reedman worked in youth and community theatre for 30 years as an actor, writer, director and musician. He worked as Regional Arts Development Officer with Eastern Riverina Arts for 3 ½ years and has been Regional Arts Development Officer with Arts Upper Hunter for…
Saturday Workshop Coping with loss through life’s transitions: From birth to death, life is a series of change and transitions. Any kind of change brings with it some kind of loss. Learning to cope with loss helps us transition in a healthy and positive way, enabling a full and well lived life Audrey was born…
Saturday workshops: 1: Sustainable Storytelling with Art. 2: Sustainable Storytelling with Cartoons Do you have a story to tell or a vision of a sustainable future to share through visual images or written words? This workshop will allow you to put some of your ideas down on paper through art. You don’t need to be…
Saturday Workshop: Rediscovering spirituality that sustained the past to meet the challenges of the future Rev. Tom Stuart has been in ministry in the Uniting Church in rural parishes for 25 years. He is now located in Newcastle. Tom is a devotee to Jesus portrayal of “the kingdom of heaven” as “yeast that enters the…
Saturday Presentation How can we create a sustainable future – with a fair go for everyone? A successful transition to sustainability must be inclusive, positive and empowering for the whole community. The whole community needs to share the benefits of the transition to a sustainable future, and no-one is left behind. A transition that aims to…
Saturday and Sunday Workshops: The futures: religious and secular. Judeo-Christianity contains four competing visions of the future, and each have a secular parallel. What are they, where do they lurk in our own lives, and which one are we going to tell ourselves and others more often, for the common good? Jason is a half…
Saturday Workshop: The Power of Two – You do have choices! 40 Simple Steps to Sustainability Focus on how 2 people can make a difference. Features ways of transitioning to renewable energy, and sustainability, including handouts and many references for further self study. John Hayes has worked in Sydney, as a volunteer in various community…
Tars Bylhouwer has a particular interest and extensive experience in tourism, from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Tars completed his Tourism Degree at Newcastle University and went on to lecture and tutor at the same University and at various TAFE colleges around Newcastle. He is the current president of the Australian Institute of Tourism Officers…
Saturday and Sunday Workshop: Succession Planning: How to prepare your family and your family business for the future? Isobel Knight is a succession planning specialist and has been the owner and a director of Australia’s leading family farm succession planning business Proagtive for the last decade. Isobel is a mother of three has degrees in…
Saturday Workshops: 1: A deeper look at the science, impacts, and solutions to the climate crisis. 2: Examines the changing climate in our region, and highlights actions that we can take to protect our future 2014 was the hottest year in recorded history. A year of wild unpredictable weather and extreme fires. Al Gore and…
Saturday Presentation and Workshop: The Changing Faces of Rural Australia: Migration and its impact on smaller communities Eddie Whitham was awarded the 2014 Tamworth Citizen of the Year largely due to his humanitarian work with refugees who have relocated to the area. In 2012 he was Awarded Local Hero award by Jewish group Courage to…
Community Led Recovery: Dungog Bounce Forward Project The small township of Dungog was left devastated by the unprecedented floods that hit the Hunter region on 21 April 2015, with 82 homes left severely damaged or destroyed, 139 individuals forced to evacuate their homes, and tragically, three people lost their life.The Dungog Shire Community Centre has…
Saturday Presentation: Heart to Heart is a School based social program that focuses on re- engaging youths who have faced great challenges in their lives. The program incorporates art, youth workers, health workers and mentoring, with the final culmination of a self-fundraised humanitarian journey to Vietnam, where the girls finally take their newfound art and…
Convention Facilitator Holly Creenaune co-ordinates Land Water Future, a community campaign to protect our state’s farmland, forests, water and communities. She works closely with communities across NSW including Liverpool Plains farmers, Hunter Valley wine-makers, and Western Sydney families. Previously, Holly worked with the trade union United Voice as a national co-ordinator on fair economy campaigns.
Sat/Sun Workshops and Sunday Presentation: Creating a Vision for a Regenerative future – the Bingara community experience. Garry McDouall is a senior teacher, consultant & facilitator with Resource Consulting Services (RCS). He has been a merchant banker, a farmer, and has been heavily involved in community affairs since returning to the country in 1984. His strength…
Sunday workshop presentation The Industry Skills Fund is a growth initiative that has been designed to encourage investment in training so that Australian businesses will be better prepared to diversify into new markets, adopt new technologies, enter export markets and create more jobs. The fund is targeting businesses, which are preparing to take up growth…
Saturday Workshop: “Our Water Our Future’, MidCoast Water will present a 30 year integrated water cycle management plan where they’ve been looking at how to sustainably provide drinking water and sewer services to our region. Daniel Brauer is the Group Manager Planning & Development at MidCoast Water. Daniel studied Environmental Engineering at The University of…
Presentation: The evolution of Australian towns Australia’s population has become increasingly concentrated in major coastal cities and regional centres, while many rural inland towns have declined. Lucy’s presentation is largely based on The evolution of Australian towns, a report of original research conducted by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). This report…
Sunday Workshop: Soulstainability: powering your passion with renewable energy Through coaching, Kirsty Hughes helps soul-driven sustainability professionals and advocates to cultivate their inner power so they can positively transform the world without sacrificing themselves or succumbing to overwhelm. She also helps bring life back to those who have burnt out. As a passionate environmental student,…
Sunday Workshop: Locking up land for viable organic farming for future farmers. Villages in this picture become the manufacturing and cultural hub that needs to come with a fully sustaining farm. All ages living in the village means a good mix of skills and knowledge to contribute Lucie Bruvel is a Social Entrepreneur and founder…
Sunday Webinar: Why does ‘what matters’ matter? Join Evolve Network’s Director, Kerry Grace for 30min online presentation about what really matters – and why it matters. After working in and alongside the community sector for over 12 years Kerry noticed that while people easily aligned to their ‘problems’ or ‘issues’ (i.e. what is wrong with…
Saturday Workshop: Contributing to community development through volunteering Volunteers are worth billions of dollars to the Australian economy, are represented in all age groups over 18 years, are found from the Arts, Business, Professional, Welfare, Community, Education and Training, Emergency Services right through to Sport and Recreation. They are the lifeblood of Australian Red Cross…
Saturday and Sunday Workshops: Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) is a group founded in Melbourne in 2006 by a group of people including engineers who were concerned about Australia’s lack of plans to respond to climate change. In collaboration with the Institute of Energy Research, Melbourne University, their research showed that we are a country most…
Saturday Presentation and Workshop: The 5 Stages Of Community Life and Community Do’s and Dont’s. Do you ever wonder why some communities move forward on issues, while others don’t? Or why some initiatives work in one community but not in another? It’s because all communities are not the same. The Harwood Institute’s experience has revealed…
If you’re having any issues at the convention, look out for Jai Allison to have a chat and see if we can work something out. Jai is a reformed engineer, now working as a community development practitioner he’s able to draw on accidental counselling skills to assist people through challenging experiences, like losing their home to bushfire.…
Sunday Workshop Managing Type 2 diabetes – in a rural community Annabel has been working in the field of diabetes education for the past 24 years. In 2009, she graduated from Newcastle University with a Master of Nursing and later became endorsed as a Diabetes Nurse Practitioner. Annabel is also a Credentialed Diabetes Educator and…
Sunday Morning Yoga (7am) at St Joseph’s Primary School Marc completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2011 Eventually he modified his personal practice towards the Ashtanga Mysore Style. After moving to Gloucester in the beginning of 2014, he started to teach Hatha Vinyasa Flow Yoga at ‘Even Flow Yoga’ in Gloucester NSW, and…
Ethics in Schools: Developing children’s critical thinking skills for building a better society, how to get ethics classes started in a school and volunteering opportunities for parents and the wider community. Ethics classes are available in NSW public schools as an option for children who do not attend Special Religious Education (SRE) / Scripture. The…
Saturday and Sunday Workshops: Starting the Australian first community owned renewable energy retailer. Enova Energy was established to answer two questions: how to reduce carbon emissions and where does the money from energy business go to? A solution was developed to help the local community to reduce their emissions and to capture the business and…
