Lunch & Learn - September 2026 - Community and council: a story of walking together
Description
Community and council: a story of walking together
Change doesn’t only happen in policy documents or council chambers. It often starts much smaller — in a backyard, over a cup of tea, in the slow work of building trust and shifting one relationship at a time.
But change also calls for courage from councils: the willingness to take risks, challenge what has always been done, and make bold decisions that create space for something different. The City of Fremantle’s introduction of One Day — an inclusive alternative to Australia Day — offers one example of local government stepping into that space and turning a community conversation into meaningful civic action.
So, how can change be meaningfully propelled at the intersection of grassroots community action and local governance? And what becomes possible when the energy, lived experience and imagination of communities meet the authority, resources and willingness to act of local government?
Truth-telling isn't a single conversation — it's a practice, one that starts with ourselves, deepens through relationships, and slowly reshapes the systems around us.
Join Brendan Moore and Sarah Nelson from the City of Fremantle (Walyalup) for a warm and honest conversation about the City’s journey towards building a better and fairer future. From One Day celebrations to a dedicated Stretch RAP pillar and program focused on Truth-Telling, they explore what it means to create safe and inclusive spaces and produce events that invite people to come together — to listen deeply, learn honestly, and hold space for complexity and vulnerability; to sit with difficult truths and discomfort, allow trust to build slowly and on its own terms, and recognise and celebrate the resilience, strength, and self-determination of First Nations communities.
Formal structures like working groups and reconciliation plans matter — they hold the mandate and the mechanics. But what actually carries this work, day to day, are individual relationships: the ones built one honest conversation at a time, across different roles, different systems, and sometimes very different ideas of what risk and accountability even mean.
They’ll speak honestly about what this ongoing work asks of them personally, what it looks like in community — built through relationships, trust and shared programming — and what it means to navigate systems shaped by governance, timelines and resourcing constraints, while creating space for listening, complexity, and the strength of grassroots, collective community action to continually shape the work.
“Truth-Telling is about an active process of building new relationships and understanding. It is about truth-doing” – Reconciliation Australia
Come ready to listen deeply, sit in the tension, and reflect on what walking this path might look like in your own work.
All are welcome at our free monthly Lunch & Learn sessions. Register now and be part of the movement.
Tuesday, 22 September 2026; 12.30 - 2.00pm (AEST)
Online via Zoom
About the Presenters
Brendan Moore, Whadjuk Noongar, Senior Aboriginal Engagement Officer, City Of Fremantle
Brendan Moore is a Whadjuk Noongar man from Walyalup (Fremantle), who grew up in Dandaragan on Yued Country. He has worked across a range of roles and has been with the City of Fremantle for 15 years. Brendan is a member of the Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group and the Noongar Boodja Trust Investment Committee. He is also a Director of the Indigenous Lived Experience Centre (ILEC), a strategic initiative focused on strengthening social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Brendan brings strong cultural knowledge, lived experience and governance expertise, with a commitment to Aboriginal representation, community wellbeing and positive outcomes for Aboriginal people. (image credit: Robyn Jean Photography)
Sarah Nelson, Producer - Truth Telling, City of Fremantle
Sarah is an award-winning performer, producer and multidisciplinary artist working with over 20 years professional experience across theatre, film and community arts. From desert sands, collaborating with remote communities, to touring national and international main stages, Sarah’s independent career has been eclectic and expansive. Yet at its heart is a fundamental belief in the power and importance of community arts, and a drive to give voice to the marginalised and give expression to the often invisible through immersive creative experiences. Sarah is a dedicated ally and advocate for reconciliation, and has been honoured to work as Producer of the City’s Truth-Telling Program since 2024.
About the ChangeFest Learning Network
The ChangeFest Learning Network is a regular opportunity for all of us across the ChangeFest Movement to share practice and learn, to connect and build, and to take a deep breath and reflect. It will provide us all with the space to listen and hear from each other in ways that will help us in our own work for community-led system change – whether it be in communities, government, large for purpose organisations and businesses.
Lunch & Learn Sessions are usually held from 12.30 - 2.00pm (AEST) and are designed to be “easy for you to contribute, simple for us to hold, meaningful for us all to be part of.”
Each event will be free and provide opportunity to explore practices and stories of community-led change – and an opportunity to connect with each other across the ChangeFest Movement.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
