National Water Week 2022: Our Water Stories

EXPERT PANEL | Q&A | NETWORKING

National Water Week inspires individuals, communities, and organizations to build awareness around the value of water. The theme for 2022 is 'Our Water Stories'.

Join us at the WSP building for an evening of connection and conversation in the middle of National Water Week 2022.

Water covers three-quarters of our planet and makes up two-thirds of our bodies. Clean water is one of the most important resources for humans' daily lives. Yet, millions of people live in countries with high and critical levels of water stress. 

We invite speakers and our members to explore their own water stories and imagination, looking to the past, present and future. We hope members can increase their awareness on the essentiality of water as a resource needed for our livelihoods and through stories, can realize that it is down to all of us to protect our water environments, resources, and use water wisely. 

Meet our panel:

Dr Ruth Link
Yilki Guludun Tagai Law & Biocultural Knowledge
Mitchell River Traditional Custodians Advisory Group (MRTCAG)
Dr Ruth Link is YGT’s Law and Transformation Business partner and is a lawyer who has a western technical legal background in commercial, administrative and criminal law. Her western professional and technical experience includes legal and advocacy, program and project management, supply chain, research and evaluation, change management.  Ruth has extensive bama (Aboriginal) cultural skills, capabilities and knowledge. Ruth has a strong connection to her country – wulburbu - and her gugu –  language; and my cultural history and cultural practices. Following her father’s linage, she identifies as a Western Gugu Yalanji Jaradama Jalbu from Palmer River, Cape York North Queensland (Grandfathers Country) and a Woppaburra Konomi Woman from Great Keppel Island (Grandmothers Country). Ruth also is a Butchella Woman from Fraser Island, a Torres Strait woman from Moa Island.

By way of on Country involvement, Ruth is the Chairperson of the Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group and Secretary of Jarradama Warra Western Yalanji Corporation working with her clan to return to Country and have a strong presence across our north, south, east and west boundaries. Ruth has extensive experience designing indigenous-led legal reform, transformational programs, strategies and legal reform across all states and Territories in this Country’s urban, regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community demographics.  A responsibility of to ensure the way of other ancestors continues as this is our bama gala – the continuation of Yalanji way as depicted in the 5 seasons in the Story Map with NESP.

Cassandra Mai
WSP Australia
Young Water Professionals
Cassandra is a Process Engineer at WSP working in the water and wastewater treatment team and is the Communications Lead in the Australian Water Association Young Water Professionals subcommittee for QLD. She has worked on a diverse range of projects across Australia, helping deliver sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure projects to both water utilities and the private sector. Cassandra enjoys working in the water industry as she is able to help manage one of our most precious and valuable resources: water.

Sian Chadfield
The University of Queensland
Sian is a PhD Candidate with The University of Queensland. Her research examines water wise communities, what characterises them, as well as the opportunities and barriers to achieving them in Australian cities. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Management, and acquired research experience with the Chinese Academy of Science, where she investigated the characteristics and uses of riverside blue space in Chengdu, China, and their implications for human health and wellbeing. 

Annika Thomson
Ocean Crusaders
Born just south of Gothenburg in Sweden, I grew up on the coastline with my parents teaching me sailing and respect for the ocean. I have always loved the water and wanted more, so I started diving in 1992, in 2003, I became a Dive Instructor. Moving to Australia soon after, I found my new home on the Great Barrier Reef, where I used my passion for the ocean to show tourists the underwater world. Now I’m a mariner/ skipper and an integral part of the Ocean Crusaders team in Australia and Sweden. We are a small team, but not afraid to do the dirty work.

Professor Stuart Bunn
Australian Rivers Institute - Griffith University
Stuart is a senior member of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and, until July 2022, was the founding Director. His major research interests are in the ecology of river and wetland systems with a particular focus on the science to underpin river management. Stuart has extensive experience working with international and Australian government agencies and industry on water resource management issues and has been an active member and chair of state and national science advisory committees. Stuart is currently a member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and has previously served as a National Water Commissioner and as a Director of Land and Water Australia. In 2019, he was appointed to the Earth Commission, hosted by Future Earth, and in 2022 was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Don’t miss out - Tickets available now. 

• $10 Members- UNAAQ and UNAA Young Professionals 
• $15 General Admission
• $25 Bring a friend and save! (Price includes two General Admission tickets)
• $5 Equity Ticket - We don’t want anyone missing out because of price! If cost is at all a concern, please select this ticket type - no questions asked. We look forward to seeing you!

KEY EVENT INFO:

• Venue: WSP Building, 900 Ann St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
• Light refreshments provided
• Dress code is business casual
• Registration essential

As always, we at the UNAA respectfully acknowledge that this event will be hosted on the land of the Turrbal and Yuggera peoples. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and fully commit to working together now and in the future.

*NB: This event will comply with Queensland Government guidelines. Should restrictions impact our ability to host this event in person, refunds will be made available*