When Jason McCheyne-Tuazon, the CEO of The Equality Project, took to the stage at the beginning of last weekend’s Better Together conference he might have wondered if this was the final outing for the popular grassroots community conference.
The effects of community outrage from podcast episode designed to spark discussions at the conference was still ricocheting. While multiple prominent organisations had pulled out of the event, hundreds of participants were still in the auditorium for the opening plenary.
The event began with a performance from Los Angeles based artist Lucy and La Mer singing The Rainbow Connection, the Paul Williams penned tune that Kermit the Frog sings at the opening of the 1980 film The Muppet Movie.
Over Friday and Saturday over 90 sessions were held across with multiple rooms, and 140 people gave presentations, took part in panels or held workshops. The topics were diverse; from health to advocacy, applying for funding, community safety, and insights from queer youth, through to intergenerational discussions and challenging concepts of inclusion.
Tuazon-McCheyne opened the conference by referencing the apology he’d made online just a few days earlier.
“The last week has been a complicated time. My team has spent a lot of time in deep reflection and we have learned so much, and we think there is a lot of work to do going forward in the future.”
“I want to reiterate the I am genuinely sorry that anyone was hurt by anything that I facilitated. I just want to say you can be mad at me if you like, I get that, I take responsibility for that, but Better Together is not about me. It’s not about any one person, and it never has been. This stage, this room, is full of you – you wonderful people, from all over this beautiful land.
“You have given your time, your energy, and your care to be here, to share your sessions, to listen and to learn. Not to win, not to fix people, to learn over the upcoming 90 sessions over the next two days. I don;t want anything that’s happened this past week, or how you feel about me to detract from that, because this conference is bigger than any single one of us. Be curious, laugh, listen, and enjoy this journey, let’s love each other deeply – because love always wins.
Tuazon-McCheyne then thanked the conference attendees for showing up, and noted that many people have travelled great distances to be at the event.
“We believe in the Better Together dream, and it’s been our life’s work for the last nine years.” the CEO said thanking his small team of four who put the multiday event together.
“We need to be stronger together than we’ve ever been.” Tuazon McCheyne said, before adding “And that doesn’t mean what you think.
“It’s not about being resilient, its not about ‘hanging in there’. We actually have to engage reality for what it really is – even if we don’t like it, and it makes us uncomfortable. That is strength.”
The CEO also made a plea to “hold to the centre” in the civil debate across Australia, and stressed the importance and value of face-to-face conversations to build connection and understanding.
He closed off by referencing the lyrics to The Rainbow Connection saying, “One day we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lover, the dreamers and me.” before adding other line from the song, “We know that it’ll probably be magic.”
The conference began with a traditional welcome to country from Robert Taylor who shared the language and history of the Kuarna people.
After a smoking ceremony people took part in ‘The Long Walk’ exercise to show their commitment to Indigenous reconciliation and recognition, and made their way into the Adelaide Conference Centre.
