WILPF Australia Presents: Feminist Peace in Action: A morning of two inspiring guest speakers and more

Feminist peace in action

A morning of two inspiring guest speakers and more

8.00 am for 8.45 am - 12 pm

For the first morning of the WILPF Australia Triennial Conference, we are honoured to invite all those in feminist peace, justice and related fields

— and in the wider community—to join with us for a stimulating, thought-provoking morning that will include three inspiring guest speakers and much more.

Attendance Options: In Person / Online:

• IN PERSON: For those who’d like to meet and hear Professor Davis, Aunty Pat Anderson AO and Dr Kate Laing in person, arrive 8 am for prompt 8.45 am start. The program will include morning tea, and finishes at 12:00 pm.
  Book quickly as there are just a few seats left - $10 pp. (NB Be sure to first check parking/transport info at the bottom of this event page, as this is a Suncorp Stadium event day, and no parking is allowed.)

• ONLINE: Online tickets are still available and free. Please be online for zoom broadcast to begin from 8.35 am - and for a sense of the event and speakers. Be in seats for program to begin at 8.45 am
  

Guest Speakers

Professor Megan Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson, AO  

Moving forward with action “From the Heart”

The Voice stands as “a solution conceived of by First Nations people in a historic First Nations process that no one has ever tried” (Prof. Davis, The Monthly, Dec 2023 ).

The defeat of the Referendum, and the related post-truth landscape, has “revealed Australians’ poor understanding of the Constitution, and the level of racism in the community”. Yet, in some consolation, there are now 6 million people who have shown their support for the Voice.

Join Professor Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson as  they consider the present, what options there are and, in particular, what ways there are to move forward with action “From the Heart”.

BIOGRAPHIES IN BRIEF: 

MEGAN DAVIS

Scientia Professor Megan Davis is Pro Vice-Chancellor Society (PVCS) at UNSW Sydney and holds the Balnaves Chair in Constitutional Law and is director of the Indigenous Law Centre, UNSW Law. Professor Davis is the 2024-2025 Whitlam Fraser Harvard Chair in Australian Studies and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.

Prof is a Sydney Peace Prize Laureate for the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart in 2022 and in 2023 Prof Davis was named on TIME Magazine’s TIME NEXT100 list of the Next Generation of Global leaders. She was also named Marie Claire “Powerhouse of the Year” in 2023. She is a previous Overall Winner of the AFR Women of Influence (now Women of Leadership) awards in 2018 and has previously been named on the AFR Annual Cultural Power list and AFR's Australia's top Legal Powerbrokers list.

Prof Davis was co-chair of the Uluṟu Dialogue and worked on the constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples for over twelve years and was instrumental in the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart.

She is a globally recognised expert in human rights and Indigenous peoples rights and was formerly expert and Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and expert member and Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

AUNTY PAT ANDERSON AO

Co-Chair, Alyawarre

Pat Anderson is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as an advocate for the rights and health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Ms Anderson has extensive experience in Aboriginal health, including community development, policy formation and research ethics. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2014 for distinguished service to the Indigenous community as a social justice advocate, particularly through promoting improved health, and educational and protection outcomes for children. In 2018, the national NAIDOC Committee recognised Ms Anderson's life-long contribution with the Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2021 she was awarded the ACT Senior Australian of the Year. Ms Anderson was Co-Chair of the Referendum Council that released its final report in 2017,and has since led the work of the Uluru Dialogue in partnership with the ILC UNSW.

Aunty Pat Anderson AO is an Alyawarre woman and the Chairperson of the Lowitja Foundation. Previously, Ms Anderson was Chief Executive Officer of Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin, Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT). Ms Anderson also co-authored the Little Children Are Sacred Report, a report on the abuse of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.

Guest Speaker

Dr Kate Laing

Sisters in Peace: The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Australia, 1915-2015

Dr Laing posits the question—is preparing for war the best means of preserving peace?

This question has never been solely the concern of politicians and strategists. In 1915, during the First World War, the Women's International Congress at The Hague was convened after alarmed and bereaved women from both sides of the conflict insisted that their opinions on war and the pathway to peace be heard. Australian women have been a part of this international story since the founding of WILPF.

This talk will give a glimpse into the activities of WILPF in Australia throughout the twentieth century and an explanation of why Kate chose to write about it.

BIOGRAPHY IN BRIEF:

Dr Laing received her PhD from La Trobe University and has published on Australian feminist history in peer-reviewed journals. She has worked at various universities teaching Australian history and as a researcher and project officer.

PROGRAM

8.00 am Registrations

8.45 am Conference opens

8.50 am Traditional Welcome

9.00 am     Welcome – Margaret Reynolds, President WILPF Australia

9.15 am Video messages – Sylvie Ndongmo, WILPF International President, and Madeleine Rees, WILPF International Secretary-General.

9.20 am     Guest speaker – Professor Megan Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson AO: Moving Forward with Action "From the Heart".

10.15 am       Morning tea

10.45 am       Guest speaker – Dr Kate Laing: Sisters in Peace: The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Australia, 1915-2015 

11.15 am       In conversation: The Vision for WILPF’s International Organisation – from international to national and connecting across the region.

12.00 pm.       EVENT ENDS. Attendees leave. WILPF AUSTRALIA NATIONAL TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE BEGINS (Members only)

NB - TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS

Please note: the weekend of 17-19 May is a major football weekend at nearby Suncorp Stadium.
While this WILPF Event is designed to start and finish during quiet times, it is important to note that street parking is prohibited and there are no parking stations close by.

Your travel options for arriving and leaving the event are:

• • Public transport: bus, train and CityCat are all an easy walk a few minutes away.
• • Cab, Uber etc, or private car drop-off: cars may drop passengers at the Park Road entrance.
• • Walk: eg the scenic river walk and bikeway from and to the city.

Disability Access

There is an internal lift at the Red Cross venue. To access the lift, and for other related queries and support, phone WILPF on 0437 327 890 - as far ahead as possible.

ABOUT WILPF

WILPF is a global membership-based, feminist peacebuilding organisation. 

In Australia and globally, WILPF works for a world of permanent peace built on feminist foundations of freedom, justice, nonviolence, human rights and equality for all, where people, the planet and all its other inhabitants coexist and flourish in harmony. Everything we do is in pursuit of this collective vision.

The WILPF Australia National PeaceWomen Awards were established in 2015 on the occasion of WILPF's centenary year. Held every three years, the Awards acknowledge and honour Australian women who are leading for peace in a range of areas that accord with WILPF's vision. 

Learn more about WILPF and consider joining or supporting WILPF Australia.