From Flight Paths to School Runs: Mobility, Migration and the Making of Independence

Date: Tuesday, 08 September 2026

Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Location: Nelson Meers Foundation Auditorium, Chau Chak Wing Museum

How do beings—human and non-human—learn to move through the world, and what social, cultural, and environmental conditions enable or constrain that movement?

This session rethinks transport by exploring mobility as something learned, enabled and shaped across species, cultures and environments. It begins with one of the world’s most extraordinary travellers: the bar-tailed godwit, whose young undertake a 9,000-kilometre migration alone at just a few months old, relying on instinct and fragile ecological networks that span continents.

We then turn to children in Australia, where independent mobility has declined significantly over recent decades. Despite growing evidence of its importance for development and wellbeing, fewer children today are able to navigate their neighbourhoods freely—a shift shaped by urban design, risk perceptions and social norms.

Finally, we examine mobility through the lens of migration and parenting. Different cultural approaches to care, autonomy and aspiration shape how families move through cities—and across the globe—with many making significant daily and life-changing journeys for their children’s futures.

Together, these perspectives reveal mobility not simply as movement from A to B, but as a deeply social and environmental practice. From birds crossing oceans to children crossing streets, this session asks: what makes movement possible—and what happens when those conditions change?

Speakers

Judy Harrington, BirdLife Australia

Jennifer Kent, University of Sydney

Simon Gatward, Photographer

Christina Ho, University of Technology Sydney

Chair

Emily Moylan, University of Sydney

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