Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture: Human Rights, Anti-Racism & Reform

You’re invited to attend the Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture. 

• 3 November 2022 | 12:00pm – 1:30pm  
• Free online webinar 

Join hundreds of people around the country for the prestigious Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture. Delivered by The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, the Attorney-General of Australia, this year’s event is one of the first public opportunities to hear the new Government’s agenda for human rights policy implementation and reform.

The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion to reflect on online hate and the need for legislative reform.

This is a FREE online event with up to 1000 participants expected to attend.

About this event

We stand at an important moment in our nation’s development. The challenges we face to maintain a peaceful, harmonious, multicultural society are many. To ensure a country free of racial discrimination in which everyone has every chance to fully participate in society, we need to move from a space of ‘safe’ to ‘brave’ on issues affecting those who experience discrimination.

This lecture is an opportunity to hear from the Attorney-General on the Australian Government’s vision to advance human rights. The AG will speak to the Government’s commitments on:

• Justice for First Nations peoples and communities
• A National Anti-Racism Strategy
• Governance, integrity and transparency of human rights institutions.

The Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture is an annual public event held by the Australian Human Rights Commission to honour the memory of the Hon. Kep Enderby QC (1926-2015). As Attorney-General, Kep Enderby introduced into Parliament the Bill which would become the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). Each year, the Memorial Lecture advances public understanding and debate about the Racial Discrimination Act, racism and human rights.

Information & Registration

The lecture, sponsored by the EU Delegation to Australia and introduced by the EU Ambassador Designate to Australia, Mr Gabriele Visentin, will be delivered online via Zoom.

Auslan interpretation and live captioning will be available. 

If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact us. 

The deadline for registrations is: Wednesday 2 November 2022. 

MC

The Australian Human Rights Commission is pleased to announce that Jeremy Fernandez will be the MC and panel facilitator for this event.

Jeremy Fernandez is a journalist, producer and presenter specialising in live events and multi-platform news coverage with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He has anchored and reported in the field for some of the network’s most complex broadcasts over two decades including coverage of The Northern Rivers floods - 2022, the Black Summer bushfires, Australia’s Covid-19 pandemic response, and The Australian Of The Year Awards. Jeremy regularly appears on ABC television and streaming services, including the News Channel, and NSW 7PM News. He has also served community and charitable organisations including Sydney World Pride, The Top Blokes Foundation, Mindframe, Suicide Prevention Australia, ACON, Room To Read, Dress for Success, and the United Nations Association of Australia.

Speakers

The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP was appointed Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 June 2022. Mark is a passionate defender of the rule of law, freedom of the press and the need for a powerful and independent National Anti Corruption Commission. Mark is a strong advocate for social justice and believes in creating a sustainable economy and environment for future generations. Mark was first elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Isaacs in November 2007. In 2010 Mark was appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and in February 2013, Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Management. Prior to entering Parliament Mark was a Melbourne barrister and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1999. He appeared for and advised Federal, State and local governments and appeared in a number of landmark cases in the High Court, including the Stolen Generations litigation.

Mr Chin Tan commenced his term as Race Discrimination Commissioner on October 8, 2018. Prior to joining the Commission, Chin spent three years as the Director for Multicultural Engagement at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. Chin's focus at Swinburne University as the head of its cultural diversity strategy was to work collaboratively across the University and the wider community to ensure that Swinburne succeeded as an institution of cultural diversity excellence.

Following the Memorial Lecture, several leading experts will form a panel to discuss online hate and the need for legislative and other reforms. They will include:

• Dr Matteo Vergani is an expert on data and online hate from the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, and member of the Australian Hate Crime Network. Matteo is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Deakin University, and Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation. Matteo’s research focuses on the "ecosystem of hate", which includes discrimination, micro-aggressions, hate speech, hate crime and politically motivated violence. It looks at the factors that cause and accelerate hate, as well as the factors that contribute to prevent and mitigate hate, such as social cohesion and inclusion of diverse communities in multicultural societies.  

• Rita Jabri Markwell is a lawyer based with the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN), a national body working to secure the physical and psychological safety of Australian Muslims. Rita leads AMAN’s engagement with the tech industry and researchers, as well as its contributions to law and policy reform in Australia. Rita is also a member of the AHRC’s National Anti-Racism Framework Expert Advisory Group. Rita is an advocate for atrocity prevention through public policy, which she has championed through her work on understanding dehumanisation through the Christchurch Call Advisory Network and Global Internet Forum to Counter terrorism. Locally, she is co-chair of a community campaign that has progressed hate crime law reform in Queensland.

• Professor Sandy O’Sullivan is a Wiradjuri transgender/non-binary person, an ARC Future Fellow and Professor of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University. Since 1991 they have taught and researched across gender and sexuality, museums, the body, performance, design and First Nations’ identity. Sandy has expertise in social media as it relates to debate around race and racism, and is a member of the Racism. It Stops With Me Expert Advisory Group

Technical production of this event is proudly managed by The Social Deck