Deep Dive Ballarat #3 | Democracy: Made in Ballarat?
Description
Ballarat has a long history of people organising, speaking up, challenging power and demanding a say in the decisions that shape their lives.
But what does that history mean for us now?
For the third edition of Deep Dive Ballarat, we’re diving into democracy, protest, organising and the people who have helped shape political and social life in our city.
We’ll be joined by Megan J Riedl, Ballarat writer, artist, facilitator and creative troublemaker, who’ll draw our attention to the women of the goldfields and the stories that don’t always make it into the traditional telling of Ballarat’s democratic history.
Joining Megan will be Brett Edgington, immediate past Secretary of the Ballarat Trades and Labor Council, to explore Ballarat’s long history of unionism, workers organising and collective action - and the role ordinary people have played in pushing for change.
Together, we’ll dig into some big questions:
What does democracy look like beyond elections?
Who gets remembered in our stories about political change, and who gets left out?
What roles have workers, women, activists and community movements played in shaping Ballarat?
How have people throughout Ballarat’s history challenged the people and institutions that held power?
And what can the movements of the past teach us about participation, power and community today?
From the goldfields to the union hall and beyond, we’ll explore some of the people, movements and ideas that have shaped Ballarat - and ask whether democracy really was made in Ballarat.
There’ll be plenty of time for questions, discussion and a few unexpected detours along the way.
Speakers
Megan J Riedl
A professional wordsmith, prolific creative, super solo mum and Autistic woman, Megan J Riedl is a master facilitator of creative workshops. She feels out loud in a range of mediums including collage, zines, theatre, and podcasting. Combining the personal and political, Megan leads by example in standing up, showing up and speaking up, sharing the messy, human experiences that often go unspoken. Megan’s work explores themes of identity, belonging, truth and power, often highlighting issues of social justice such as family violence or, mental health. You can be sure of an anti-capitalist, feminist message, a lot of colour, and just a little bit of cheeky sass. A nationally recognised spoken word performer, Megan’s powerful style of performance poetry fearlessly gives voice to the secret stories we tell ourselves and creates compelling calls to action. An expert world-builder, Megan creates beautiful worlds of stylised realism for the stage and makes intricate collage using recycled books. She also has an interest in historical drama, and often bases her work on true stories or real figures from the past.
Brett Edgington
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